When it comes to vacations, some consumers in the United States want to do more than catch a few rays on a beach or visit local tourist attractions. According to PYMNTS research, 139 million consumers plan to take luxury vacations next year, fueling a $1.1 trillion market. This market is thriving in part thanks to a subset of luxury travelers who want their vacations to be chave some level of excitement. These adventure travelers prefer adrenaline-inducing activities like heli-skiing, bungee jumping, kayaking, and other excitement-focused outings.

Although interest in luxury travel and adventure vacations is strong among consumers, many potential travelers may find their travel plans justified due to the significant cost they can afford. PYMNTS research reveals that many travelers are interested in innovative payment solutions that could make it easier to pay for vacations, allow multiple attendees to contribute, and include features such as automated recurring payments, tracking capabilities, and interfaces compatible with desktops and mobiles.

The new luxury travel study, a PYMNTS and Flywire collaboration, describes how consumers participated in the $1.1 trillion luxury travel market and how innovative payment solutions could open the market to even more travelers . The study examines more than 200 data points and is based on responses from 2,141 consumers who have taken and paid for a luxury vacation in the past year or plan to do so in the next year.

Among the findings presented in the report:

• 13.6% of luxury vacation consumers are adventure travelers who enjoy activities like heli-skiing, mountaineering, charter flifights, ride in helicopters or explore exotic locations like Machu Picchu.
• 50.7% of survey respondents cited the costs of luxury vacations as a key factor derailing their ability to pursue such trips.
• 59.7% adventure travelers and 56.7% of luxury vacation travelers said they would take more trips if they had access to innovative payment solutions that allow multiple attendees to contribute funds, make recurring payments or track payments, among other features .
• 45 percent of adventure travelers believe innovative payment solutions would make it easier to pay for vacations.

The study also includes an in-depth study that examines frequent travelers who have taken more than one luxury trip in the past year and infrequent travelers who have only been able to take one trip, and how the access to innovative payment solutions could have an impact on the future travel plans of both groups. .

Download the study to find out how innovative payment solutions could help more travelers embark on luxury vacations.

About the study

the Luxury Travel Studya PYMNTS and Flywire collaboration, focuses on the luxury vacation market and the financial challenges that prevent many consumers from pursuing such trips. The study is based on survey responses from more than 2,000 U.S. consumers who took and paid for luxury vacations last year, plan to take them next year, or took and paid for luxury vacations in the past and plan to do so in the future.