Americans' Excitement for Travel Reaches a 3-Year High

There's no time like the present to start making your 2023 travel plans.

After a couple of shaky years due to COVID-19, travel demand bounced back in a big way in 2022. Early indications are that it could go even higher in 2023. Americans recently rated their travel excitement an eight out of 10, according to a survey by Destination Analysts. That's the highest it has been in three years. And 41% described their level of excitement as a full 10 out of 10.

People aren't just excited about the idea of traveling, either. They're locking in their travel plans now. A whopping 84% of American travelers told Destination Analysts they have existing trip plans, and one-third are likely to travel internationally this year. To top it off, 17% of survey respondents had made reservations or purchased tickets in the last week.

If you're interested in traveling soon, it's a good idea to start planning and potentially even booking ASAP. You don't want to wait too long and find that everything's sold out or that prices have gone through the roof. Here's what you can do to make your travel plans and prepare financially for a trip this year.

Decide what type of travel you're interested in

The great thing about travel is that there's so many ways to do it, depending on your personality and what kind of trip you want. You could spend a week relaxing on the beach while staying at a luxury resort. You could backpack and stay at hostels every night. You could go on a safari and see all kinds of wildlife.

Start your travel planning by imagining what you want your next trip to be like. This will help you figure out important aspects of it, like potential destinations, what type of accommodations to look for, and how much to budget.

Figure out where you want to go

If you're like many travelers, you already have a destination (or five) in mind. But sometimes it can be hard to decide on a place, especially if there are a lot of areas you'd like to visit. Here are a few ways to choose:

• Start with a region, and narrow it down from there. For example, you start by choosing Western Europe, and then narrow it down to Germany, and then decide on Frankfurt.
• Go where the deals are. Look for low-cost flights and hotels and see what's available. Also, sign up for alerts with a booking website for notifications of discount travel offers.
• Find an event that interests you. You could pick a film festival, a concert, or a sporting event, and build your trip around that.
• Phone a friend. Ask a friend or family member who likes to travel for recommendations.

Start saving up dollars -- and travel points

Travel can be expensive. Destination Analysts's most recent survey found that Americans were expecting to spend an average of $4,407 on leisure travel, almost $500 more than they were at the end of 2022.

You don't need to be rich to travel, and there are options to fit most budgets. But the more financial flexibility you have, the easier it is to book the travel you want. If travel is important to you, then make it one of your financial priorities. Set up a savings account to be your travel fund, and deposit some money there every month.

It's also a good idea to pay for your purchases with travel rewards credit cards. That way, you can earn points or miles on your everyday spending. These travel rewards can help you save big on airfare, hotel stays, and other travel expenses. For example, I saved $7,500 on hotels last year during a trip to New York. All I had to do was pay with points from my credit cards.

Lots of people will be traveling this year, and you could be one of them. It doesn't need to be complicated to plan a trip, either. Spend some time considering what you want most out of your next travel experience and which destinations you'd like to visit. As you do that, get ready financially by saving regularly and using credit cards that earn travel rewards. From there, it's simply a matter of making reservations and taking your trip.