The Rising Wealth Gap in Experiences: Two Charts

In our most recent survey of U.S. travelers, we observed something extraordinary: a small percentage of travelers – just one in five – accounted for an outsized portion – nearly half – of dollars spend on tours, activities and attractions. 

This smaller subset, of course, is the affluent traveler – those with annual household incomes of $150,000 or greater. 

We’ve always known this small subset of travelers played a very big role in our not-so-small corner of tourism, as they do in all other sectors of travel. But the degree of their impact caught us by surprise. So we dug further. 

The Top Rises, the Middle Slides

Arival’s tracking of the traveler population suggests that affluent travelers represent a bigger slice of that population coming out of the pandemic. The largest pullback from travel was from middle-income households, whose share fell from 58% to 51% of travelers over the past five years. 

Far more striking is the shift in spend. Less affluent travelers represented a far smaller share of total experiences spend in 2023 vs. 2019, while affluent travelers’ share surged to nearly half. 

A Cyclical Shift, or Something More…?

Media reporting in our industry suggests that this shift in traveler demographics – the rise of the affluent traveler and the pullback of middle- and lower-income travelers – is just cyclical. The post-pandemic travel boom has ended, and inflation has caught up with the middle-class consumer. The result is lower consumer confidence, and fewer middle- and lower-income adults traveling. 

However, this may be more than just the result of another economic cycle, as some have suggested. It could signal a bigger, more fundamental shift with enormous long-term implications for our industry. 

The growing wealth gap in the U.S. has been a widely reported trend decades in the making. Over the past five decades, middle-income households have seen their share of all households slide from 61% to 51% and their share of aggregate income fall from 62% to 43%, according to Pew Research Center. Upper-income households, by comparison, have gained dramatically. 

The Wealth Gap Impact

The widening wealth gap is a society megatrend for the U.S., and the big question is what will be its long-term effects on travel and experiences? Here are a few thoughts:

1. Travel may come to rely on more and more dollars coming from a smaller subset of travelers. Fortunately, these travelers are especially hungry for experiences — however, their preferences may differ from the general traveler, meaning some operators may need to adapt their offerings to attract these travelers. 
2. The largest traveler segment – the middle class traveler – may be increasingly vulnerable during downturns and more price sensitive even during upswings. 
3. Travel brands and experience operators will need to have a clear understanding of their customer segments, and consider pricing and product offerings tailored to these customer groups, such as private tours or different service-level tiers. 

Learn More About the Affluent Traveler

Learn more about these research findings and go deeper into insights and recommendations on affluent travelers and what they’re looking for with Arival’s full report on the Affluent Experiences Traveler. Available exclusively to Insider Pro Access members. 

The Affluent Experiences Traveler report is the latest in a series of reports based on Arival’s U.S. consumer research. Look for more reports and articles in this series, focusing on:

Also, join us for the next Arival event to learn more about what travelers are looking for and how to reach them, as we explore the latest travel trends, research results and experiences industry insights, with practical tips and takeaways for operators of tours, activities, attractions and experiences.

Header photo: Pexels / Fuka Jaz