Vacation Deficit Increasing in 2016 as
Importance of Annual Vacation Rises Significantly,
Number of Travelers Holds Steady

New York, NY - Fewer Americans are confident that they'll take a summer vacation this year, but the amount of money that they will spend on their vacation, on average, has increased significantly. According to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Allianz Global Assistance, the average American household that is at least somewhat confident to take a vacation this summer will spend $1798 on average, up roughly 11% from last year's average of $1621 per household.

The total projected spend for Americans on summer vacations in 2016 is $89.9 billion, up from $85.5 billion in 2015.

Meanwhile, the vacation deficit in America is increasing, driven by more Americans who say an annual vacation is important to them but no commensurate rise in the proportion of Americans who will take a vacation in 2016.

One half (50%) of Americans are `confident' (36% very/14% somewhat) that they'll take a vacation in 2016, down 1 point since last year. This compares with four in ten (39%) who are not confident (26% not at all/12% not very) that they'll get a vacation (up 3 points) and 10% who have already taken a vacation this year. Less than 1% of Americans are unsure of whether they'll get a vacation or not (down from 3 points last year). For the purposes of this study, a vacation is defined as leisure travel of at least one week to a destination at least 100 miles from home.

The proportion of Americans who remain confident that they'll take a vacation in 2016 is holding steady, juxtaposed against the rising proportion of Americans (65%) who say that taking an annual vacation is important to them (36% very/29% somewhat), up a significant 8 points since last year and rebounding to levels last recorded in 2010.

The vacation deficit is measured by examining whether those people who say a vacation is important to them are actually confident that they'll take a vacation this year. In 2016, nearly one quarter (22%) of Americans who say a vacation is important to them are not confident that they'll take a vacation, meaning that the vacation deficit is up by 3 points, the first increase since dropping 5 points between 2013 and 2015.

Summer Vacation Travel Dips Slightly...

Summer vacation travel intentions are dipping slightly this year, with fewer Americans saying they're likely to take a summer vacation in 2016. Four in ten (43%) are confident (32% very/11% somewhat) that they'll get a summer vacation this year, down from 46% last year which was the highest figure recorded since 2010. While one in three (34%) Americans are not confident that they'll get a summer vacation (24% not at all/10% not very), up 3 points, 12% say they won't take a summer vacation but intend to take an annual vacation at another time this year (up 2 points).

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted June 2nd to 5th, 2016 on behalf of Allianz Global Assistance. For the survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,007 randomly-selected adults residing in the U.S. was interviewed by random-digit dialing telephone via the ORC Caravan omnibus. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within 1773.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population of adults in the U.S. been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/gender composition reflects that of the actual U.S. population according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson Vice President (416) 324-2002 Ipsos Public Affairs [email protected]

About Ipsos

Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry. With a strong presence in 87 countries, Ipsos employs more than 16,000 people and has the ability to conduct research programs in more than 100 countries. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is controlled and managed by research professionals. They have built a solid Group around a multi-specialist positioning-- Media and advertising research; Marketing research; Client and employee relationship management; Opinion & social research; Mobile, Online, Offline data collection and delivery. Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999. www.ipsos.com