Most Americans are ‘planning staycations this year & will drive to destination due to soaring plane ticket prices’

THREE out of five Americans think they’ve wasted their summer if they haven’t traveled anywhere, according to new research.

The poll, which surveyed 2,000 adults, revealed that 58 percent are either planning a summer vacation or already have one in place for this year.

Meanwhile, the average respondent took about four different vacations per year when they were a kid.

So it’s no surprise that more than two in five (42 percent) identified vacations as their favorite type of trip as a child, more so than family visits (41 percent) and school field trips (35 percent).

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of , the survey asked respondents to explore how their past childhood travels might inform their current plans.

Today, almost two-thirds (63 percent) of respondents are more interested in planning “staycations” – trips that are closer to home – than they were a few years ago.

This could be because of issues that weren’t at the forefront of people’s minds during previous years — like uncertainty surrounding the pandemic (59 percent) and overcrowding (55 percent), which respondents cited as concerns for this upcoming summer.

Another 63 percent said they are looking to travel more within their home state during the summer than other seasons, possibly due to similar worries.

Whether in their home state or not, 68 percent have fond memories of going on summer vacation as a kid, and 71 percent say they enjoy the nostalgia that comes with revisiting childhood vacation destinations.

Three in five would consider returning to those destinations, but only if they could plan the trip differently.