NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Small business owners in U.S. tourist destinations say they鈥檙e seeing more sticking closer to home this summer, trading overseas travel for , 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 have made vacations more expensive. The soccer tournament and celebrations of the nation’s 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 travel period, but the forecasted increase is almost all due to people , buses ; AAA expects no change in the number driving or flying to their destinations.
A meaningful reduction in summer globetrotting might for businesses that depend on tourists, said Tarik Dogru, an associate professor at Florida State University’s Dedman College of Hospitality. Fewer U.S. residents heading abroad or flying across the country means more of their vacation budgets are staying local too, Dogru said.
鈥淭he current economic and tourism dynamics are likely to redirect spending toward small businesses, such as regional restaurants, local attractions, Airbnb hosts, and roadside businesses along drive routes that serve budget-conscious and close-to-home travel,鈥� he said.
If the trend holds through the summer and the rest of the year, it could reduce a travel and tourism the United States has run since the COVID-19 pandemic. Each year since 2020, more on foreign travel than spent on travel-related goods and services in the U.S., according to the National Travel and Tourism Office.
Morgan Kain, a teacher in Baltimore, said her family is among the ones keeping their travel bugs in check for financial reasons. Kain, her husband and three children usually take multiple trips each summer, including a weeklong stay at a Virginia lake house. Last year, they spent six weeks traveling around Italy.
鈥淭his summer, we鈥檙e still doing a couple overnights and the lake house, but nothing else,鈥� Kain said. 鈥淭hings are crazy expensive, from travel costs to food costs to gas.鈥�
Vacationers are taking trips within driving distance
Despite gasoline costing more than it did a year ago, 85% of Independence Day week travelers were expected to their destinations, AAA said, noting that car trips still are cheaper for the most part.
Around , which straddles California and Nevada, several businesses reported spotting more visitors driving in from cities along the West Coast.
Ron Williams, who owns Tahoe Sports, said he worried at the beginning of the season that customers might not show up to rent boats and Jet Skis due to economic concerns. Like the gasoline that powers cars, the went up during the Iran war.
But Williams so far is 鈥減leasantly surprised with how well the business is doing across the board.鈥� His future bookings are 10% higher compared to the same time last year, he said.
鈥淚 think people are probably sticking close to home, and being in Lake Tahoe, we have such a huge drive-up market,鈥� Williams said.
Increased demand for the three Lake Tahoe area rental properties that Jerry Bindel manages for Pyramid Global Hospitality also came as a relief. bookings petered out along with the snow during an unusually warm winter, but 鈥渨e just saw that flip鈥� with the arrival of hiking and , he said.
Bindel, an area general director for the property management company, said he spotted a possible sign of watching their spending: more of them skipping restaurants and using the kitchens in their rental units or outdoor barbecue grills to prepare their own food.
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing a lot of additional use on those items this summer,鈥� he said.
Locals still want to have memorable summer experiences
In Asheville, North Carolina, small business owners have hoped tourism would rebound since and flooding from days of torrential rain caused widespread destruction to the city’s landscape, buildings and infrastructure in September 2024.
Aubrey Anderson, who owns a river tubing outfitter in Asheville, reduced her summer staff from 100 people to 25 . After reservations picked up earlier this year and she noticed 鈥渁 lot new people coming into town,鈥� Anderson felt encouraged enough to hire 50 workers for Zen Tubing’s current season.
The unfamiliar faces include day-trippers driving in from South Carolina, Tennessee and other parts of North Carolina to spend several hours floating down for around $30 per person, Anderson said. After tubing, customers from around the region often grab a meal, stop at a brewery, shop or visit other local attractions before heading home, which is 鈥渁 win for Asheville as a whole,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely seeing a lot of locals, so to speak,” Anderson said. 鈥淧eople are maybe skipping the long drive to the beach this year, and they鈥檙e kind of doing just something close by so that they can save a little money and still enjoy a family outing.鈥�
Factory tours offered by French Broad Chocolate have surged this summer, according to Jael Skeffington, the Asheville chocolate maker’s CEO and co-founder. Tour-takers often stop in the on-site cafe for ice cream or coffee and buy a box of chocolate bars or bonbons before they leave, she said.
鈥淪o it鈥檚 good for business, but it also seems to be what people are looking for is something to do, not just something to eat 鈥� something to experience.” Skeffington said.
Cities are getting a World Cup boost
have poured into , Missouri, just like other hosting World Cup matches.
Made in KC, a chain of four cafes and 11 shops that sells locally made sauces, Kansas City-themed gifts and T-shirts for fans of the city鈥檚 professional sports teams, has gotten 鈥渞eally noticeable spikes of traffic鈥� at all its locations during the tournament, co-owner Keith Bradley said. World Cup-related merchandise, including $40 hats featuring the team colors of this year鈥檚 competitors, have been a big hit, he said.
American tourists from other Midwestern cities 鈥� Des Moines and Omaha both are within a three-hour drive from Kansas City 鈥� seem to outnumber U.S. visitors from farther away, Bradley noted.
鈥淲e have a couple locations that are in tourist parts of Kansas City. … But then we also have little shops that are just in suburban neighborhoods in Kansas City, and those have also seen World Cup traffic of people going to watch parties, people coming in town to go to the games, and then tourists just exploring Kansas City on their own.鈥�
Mollie Lothman, co-owner of McLain鈥檚 Bakery, a family-owned cafe with five locations, said she thinks the cost and lodging in Kansas City compared to bigger or better known has helped.
鈥淲e鈥檙e one of the smaller markets who got the World Cup in Kansas City, but we鈥檙e also probably one of least expensive markets, in terms of family budgeting, to try to come and experience the World Cup,” Lothman said. 鈥淪o I think that鈥檚 been a huge draw for people.”
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