Americans Select Cooking Lessons Over Nice Eating and Intimate Household Journeys Over Vacation Gatherings

Kansas City, MO – American vacationers aren’t reducing again – they’re getting selective. According to new knowledge from MMGY, U.S. vacationers are sustaining regular journey plans regardless of rising prices and are gravitating towards hands-on culinary experiences and selecting intimate household holidays over conventional vacation gatherings. The message is evident: Travelers need experiences that really feel genuine, interactive and deeply private.

Based on a survey of greater than 4,500 U.S. vacationers, Portrait of American Travelers™ is the journey trade’s longest-running and most-trusted examination of leisure journey conduct in America. The report’s “Fall Edition” discovered that short-term journey intentions stay steady at 66% for the subsequent six months, demonstrating the resilience of journey as a shopper precedence. And whereas tariff impacts have stabilized and journey intentions stay comparatively regular, the analysis reveals a major shift towards value-conscious decision-making and experience-driven journey.

American vacationers stay wanting to discover, however they’re making completely different selections about how and with whom they journey. Specifically, we’re seeing a significant shift in vacation journey priorities. While visiting family and friends stays the most typical selection, a rising variety of vacationers are choosing leisure holidays with their instant households, prioritizing memory-making and deeper connections with their closest circles over conventional gatherings. Simon Moriarty, Vice President of Syndicated Research for MMGY Travel Intelligence

Key takeaways from the report embody:

• Holidays Get More Intimate – Over half (53%) of energetic leisure vacationers plan to journey for the winter holidays, however conventional patterns are evolving. While visiting family and friends stays the most typical association (45%), a rising share are selecting leisure holidays with their instant households (36%) as a substitute. The pattern indicators that vacationers more and more prioritize creating shared experiences and deeper connections with their closest circle over making the standard rounds to go to prolonged household.
• Culinary Travel Gets Hands-On – Travelers are buying and selling white tablecloths for cooking aprons. Interest in cooking lessons jumped to 19% (up from 15% in 2024), whereas demand for award-winning eating places dropped 13 proportion factors to simply 18%. This shift indicators that vacationers more and more worth interactive, native meals experiences over status eating, a sentiment pushed partly by rising prices and a larger deal with value-for-money experiences.
• World Cup Creates Opportunity – Soccer followers and journey entrepreneurs alike are counting down the times till the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In reality, 21% of energetic leisure vacationers plan to journey particularly for the occasion, and they’re keen to spend a median of $3,652 per journey. Experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime occasion and supporting their nationwide staff are each cited as prime motivations by 37% of respondents.
• AI Adoption Accelerates – Forty % of energetic leisure vacationers have used ChatGPT or different AI instruments for journey planning – a ten proportion level enhance from this time final 12 months. Millennials and people with kids lead adoption (each at 59%), primarily utilizing AI to find actions of curiosity. However, human experience nonetheless reigns supreme: Travelers belief suggestions from human specialists greater than twice as a lot as AI-generated ideas.

Featuring these insights together with in-depth knowledge on worldwide journey, trip motivators and vacation spot preferences, the “Fall Edition” of Portrait of American Travelers™ is now obtainable for buy or as a part of an all-access subscription to EurekA!, MMGY’s searchable analysis platform. To study extra, go to mmgyintel.com.

About the 2025Portrait of American Travelers^™

MMGY’s Portrait of American Travelers^™ is the journey trade’s longest-running and most-trusted examination of U.S. leisure journey conduct. It gives a complete evaluation of the influence of present financial situations, social values, and rising journey habits and intentions. The “Fall Edition” relies on interviews with 4,503 U.S. adults carried out in July 2025, with generational insights from Gen Zers (18–28), Millennials (29–44), Gen Xers (45–60) and Boomers (61–79). Results from the Silent Generation (80+) are included in totals however not reported individually resulting from pattern dimension. This is the third of 4 quarterly reviews slated for 2025.

About MMGY Global

MMGY Global is the world’s main built-in advertising and marketing agency specializing within the journey, hospitality and life-style industries. With working manufacturers the world over, the award-winning group maintains a world communications apply in all advertising and marketing channels, serving lots of the world’s premier journey and tourism manufacturers. As an organization devoted to the journey trade, MMGY Global strives to create a linked, inclusive and peaceable world by selling journey as a cultural bridge of understanding. For extra info, go to mmgyglobal.com.

Derek Klaus
MMGY Global
MMGY Global

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