Schools are out. Many parents are looking forward to using their hard-earned PTO while their children are home from school. And most Gulf South residents are looking for ways to escape the heat. Summer road trips, especially beach vacations (Hello, 30A!), remain a longstanding Gulf South tradition. But in 2026, can the average citizen still afford the summer getaway they typically take?
Time to gas up the car?
According to Deloitte, only 45% of Americans are planning a summer vacation. This is the lowest percentage in 6 years, although it is not entirely surprising as the 2025 Gulf South Index showed that only 24% of Gulf South residents took a long-distance vacation in 2024. So why are these numbers so low? It’s not hard to guess. Two simple words: the economy.
According to AAA, 85-90% of Americans typically drive to their summer vacation destinations instead of fly. With gas prices on the rise, the Morning Consult reports that 70% of US adults are citing gas costs as their highest-rated summer travel concern. The amount gas prices are actually affecting travelers, however, varies greatly by household income. In households making over $100K annually, 43% have claimed higher prices have not affected their plans at all. Instead of changing their travel habits, they are simply bracing for higher costs across the board. In contrast, 56% of lower-income households making below $50K annually have stated that gas prices have led them to significantly or somewhat reduce their summer travel.
We are still going! Morning Consult reports 64% of Americans are still planning for a road trip across the US this summer, regardless of their concerns. Intent to travel rose to 35% in May, with many reinforcing travel as a priority, even if they need to behave as a more cost-conscious consumer.
Short Trips Reign Supreme
We are prioritizing more affordable weekend trips over longer vacations or overseas travel with 69% of travelers reporting they are planning weekend getaways this summer. About half of those polled cited affordability as the reason for their short stays.
Travel has become too important to compromise, so instead of foregoing their trips all together, they are shortening the length of their journey to make up for the rise in costs of lodging and activities once they arrive.
Although down three percentage points from 2025, 38% of Americans polled by Deloitte were planning for more quick getaways (3 nights or less) than any other length of stay. Similarly, polls from Axios show that travelers aren’t giving up on summer and are instead getting more strategic by planning shorter trips, thus reducing travel costs. For those in the Gulf South, short trips to the beaches of Alabama and Florida are more popular than ever. Beach trips also reign supreme nationally, with 49% of travelers planning to visit the beach or lake.
The Determined Millennial
The largest group among those set on travelling are the millennials. Specifically, those with a higher income. 82% of millennials plan to travel this summer as opposed to 49% of other generational groups. They are not letting the increased cost of travel deter them either; they are simply increasing their travel budget as needed.
For their longer “marquee” trips, they are 2x more likely to travel internationally than the other generations and have a 67% higher budget than the rest. Their average marquee trip budget is also up 33% from last year at $4,396. They’re working hard and using that hard-earned dough to make their trips exactly how they want them, with 51% planning to take a luxury vacation in 2026 versus 27% of all others.
It is also interesting to note that 65% of millennials are “laptop luggers,” meaning they bring their laptop with them on vacation and plan to work at least part of their trip. They are refusing to forgo travelling simply due to their corporate responsibilities and are instead willing to compromise and add work to their vacation agenda.
***
Why has travel become so important to so many of us? Residents of the Gulf South and Americans as a whole are determined to travel, no matter the increased costs. With the constant stream of news about our ongoing global conflicts, Americans need something positive in their lives – an escape to drown out the rest of the noise and improve their mental health.
You can choose to go near or far, go luxurious or budget-conscious, but the overall sentiment is GO!
***
One note of personal privilege, please.
The Ehrhardt Group achieved a record-high placement on PRWeek’s Agency Business Report 2026, coming in at No. 117 among the top 148 U.S. firms.On O’Dwyer’s 2026 list of Top Ranked PR Firms, TEG climbed five spots to No. 85, marking another agency milestone. For the few people that may keep track, we debuted at No. 137 on PRWeek’s list and No. 100 on O’Dwyer’s list in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
We’ve gotten to the places we are in these rankings because of the hard work the professionals of TEG put in daily on behalf of exceptional companies and institutions. The Gulf South Index is really just a collection of things that we think are interesting that you may find interesting, too, so that we can all become better thinkers and communicators by understanding the distinct personalities of the Gulf South’s communities and how we make decisions about what to buy, share and do.
Thanks for being a part of the Gulf South Index, and really part of TEG, now and for the last 30 years.
Schools are out. Many parents are looking forward to using their hard-earned PTO while their children are home from school. And most Gulf South residents are looking for ways to escape the heat. Summer road trips, especially beach vacations (Hello, 30A!), remain a longstanding Gulf South tradition. But in 2026, can the average citizen still afford the summer getaway they typically take?
Time to gas up the car?
According to Deloitte, only 45% of Americans are planning a summer vacation. This is the lowest percentage in 6 years, although it is not entirely surprising as the 2025 Gulf South Index showed that only 24% of Gulf South residents took a long-distance vacation in 2024. So why are these numbers so low? It’s not hard to guess. Two simple words: the economy.
According to AAA, 85-90% of Americans typically drive to their summer vacation destinations instead of fly. With gas prices on the rise, the Morning Consult reports that 70% of US adults are citing gas costs as their highest-rated summer travel concern. The amount gas prices are actually affecting travelers, however, varies greatly by household income. In households making over $100K annually, 43% have claimed higher prices have not affected their plans at all. Instead of changing their travel habits, they are simply bracing for higher costs across the board. In contrast, 56% of lower-income households making below $50K annually have stated that gas prices have led them to significantly or somewhat reduce their summer travel.
We are still going! Morning Consult reports 64% of Americans are still planning for a road trip across the US this summer, regardless of their concerns. Intent to travel rose to 35% in May, with many reinforcing travel as a priority, even if they need to behave as a more cost-conscious consumer.
Short Trips Reign Supreme
We are prioritizing more affordable weekend trips over longer vacations or overseas travel with 69% of travelers reporting they are planning weekend getaways this summer. About half of those polled cited affordability as the reason for their short stays.
Travel has become too important to compromise, so instead of foregoing their trips all together, they are shortening the length of their journey to make up for the rise in costs of lodging and activities once they arrive.
Although down three percentage points from 2025, 38% of Americans polled by Deloitte were planning for more quick getaways (3 nights or less) than any other length of stay. Similarly, polls from Axios show that travelers aren’t giving up on summer and are instead getting more strategic by planning shorter trips, thus reducing travel costs. For those in the Gulf South, short trips to the beaches of Alabama and Florida are more popular than ever. Beach trips also reign supreme nationally, with 49% of travelers planning to visit the beach or lake.
The Determined Millennial
The largest group among those set on travelling are the millennials. Specifically, those with a higher income. 82% of millennials plan to travel this summer as opposed to 49% of other generational groups. They are not letting the increased cost of travel deter them either; they are simply increasing their travel budget as needed.
For their longer “marquee” trips, they are 2x more likely to travel internationally than the other generations and have a 67% higher budget than the rest. Their average marquee trip budget is also up 33% from last year at $4,396. They’re working hard and using that hard-earned dough to make their trips exactly how they want them, with 51% planning to take a luxury vacation in 2026 versus 27% of all others.
It is also interesting to note that 65% of millennials are “laptop luggers,” meaning they bring their laptop with them on vacation and plan to work at least part of their trip. They are refusing to forgo travelling simply due to their corporate responsibilities and are instead willing to compromise and add work to their vacation agenda.
***
Why has travel become so important to so many of us? Residents of the Gulf South and Americans as a whole are determined to travel, no matter the increased costs. With the constant stream of news about our ongoing global conflicts, Americans need something positive in their lives – an escape to drown out the rest of the noise and improve their mental health.
You can choose to go near or far, go luxurious or budget-conscious, but the overall sentiment is GO!
***
One note of personal privilege, please.
The Ehrhardt Group achieved a record-high placement on PRWeek’s Agency Business Report 2026, coming in at No. 117 among the top 148 U.S. firms. On O’Dwyer’s 2026 list of Top Ranked PR Firms, TEG climbed five spots to No. 85, marking another agency milestone. For the few people that may keep track, we debuted at No. 137 on PRWeek’s list and No. 100 on O’Dwyer’s list in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
We’ve gotten to the places we are in these rankings because of the hard work the professionals of TEG put in daily on behalf of exceptional companies and institutions. The Gulf South Index is really just a collection of things that we think are interesting that you may find interesting, too, so that we can all become better thinkers and communicators by understanding the distinct personalities of the Gulf South’s communities and how we make decisions about what to buy, share and do.
Thanks for being a part of the Gulf South Index, and really part of TEG, now and for the last 30 years.
Marc Ehrhardt
President
The Ehrhardt Group