New data shows more Americans expect to take leisure trips in the coming months while local travel indicators suggest Houston is experiencing an uptick in that travel segment this year.

Leisure Travel

Leisure travel continues to show an upward trend, with 65% of Americans planning to take a vacation in the next six months according to MMGY Global's Portrait of American Travelers survey, a 7% increase from Q4 of 2023.

In 2023, Houston saw 21.1 million leisure visitors, an increase of 7.2% over 2022. While they were in Houston, 30.8% of travelers spent time shopping, a 3.2% increase compared to the previous year. In addition, 19.3% of visitors focused on sightseeing while exploring the city.   

During the first half of 2024, major sporting and national events as well as a series of large-scale conferences, drove visitors to the market. Houston hosted two major sporting events in the first half of 2024: the National College Football Championship in early January and three COPA matches this summer.

Air Travel and Hotel RevPAR Growth

Another indicator of the Houston market’s leisure uptick is the growth in air travel year-to-date through July. Over 36 million passengers have flown through IAH and Hobby combined – up 5.8% year-over-year.

An increase can also be seen in Houston’s hotel RevPAR year-to-date as of July, with a 6.6% gain in demand, resulting in a 5-point lift in ADR and a 6.1% increase in occupancy %. RevPAR has gained 11.4% so far this year.

Growth in these key metrics not only showcases the demand for vacations but the demand for travel overall.

Blended Travel

Another way people are experiencing leisure travel is by combining it with business travel, a combination known as blended travel. According to Skift’s 2024 State of Travel report, this trend is expected to continue.

Euromonitor is projecting that blended travel spending will reach $360 billion by 2027, a significant 140% increase from 2021.

“This forecast highlights a robust trend towards blending work and leisure activities in travel, reflecting evolving traveler preferences and behaviors,” the Skift report detailed.

Written by Norma Salcedo