With vacations 'crazy expensive,' small businesses say Americans are staying closer to home | Fortune Home Small business owners in U.S. tourist destinations say they’re seeing more Americans sticking closer to home this summer, trading overseas travel for road trips, choosing daylong sojourns over extended beach stays, and cooking instead of eating out while on vacation to save money. The reported boost to domestic tourism, though anecdotal, comes as higher airfares and gasoline prices have made vacations more expensive. The FIFA World Cup soccer tournament and celebrations of the nation’s 250th birthday have given some U.S. residents additional incentives to create summer memories without going far. Motor club federation AAA estimated that 72.2 million Americans would travel at least 50 miles from home between June 27 and this Sunday. That’s 0.5% more than the number who got away during last year’s July Fourth travel period, but the forecasted increase is almost all due to people taking cruises, buses and trains; AAA expects no change in the number driving or flying to their destinations.
Published: July 5, 2026 2:24 pm
Source: Fortune — Read original