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Americans’ summer vacation spending will increase a whopping 12.5% this year, even though fewer people say that taking an annual vacation is important to them, projects Allianz Global Assistance in its Vacation Confidence Index.

Americans are expected to spend $101 billion on summer vacations this year, up 12.5% over last year’s $89.9 billion.

However, the percentage of respondents who say taking an annual vacation is important to them fell 6 points, to 59%. Plus, 40% are not confident about taking a vacation at all, a 1-point increase from a year ago.

Also up 1 point: 51% are confident they will take a vacation sometime this year. Nine percent have already taken one.

“Americans are feeling better about the economy and have loosened their purse strings for summer 2017,” said Daniel Durazo, director of communications for Allianz Global Assistance USA. “We’re happy to see that for the first time in the eight-year history of the Vacation Confidence Index, vacation spending will hit an impressive $100 billion. This new milestone is great news for the travel industry.”

When Allianz first conducted its annual summer survey in 2009, projected spending was $74.4 billion. Besides dips in 2010 and 2015, projected vacation spending has risen each year.

American households will spend an average of $1,978 on summer vacations this year, according to Allianz, up 10% from last year. Generation X is expected to have the highest average spending at $2,628, followed by baby boomers at $1,865 and millennials at $1,373.

The Vacation Confidence Index comes from an Ipsos poll conducted for Allianz from June 1-4. In total, 1,009 U.S. adults were surveyed by telephone. Data was weighted to reflect the entire U.S. population, Allianz said.

Sоurсе: travelweekly.com