Travel is one of the experiences many households and workers try to set money aside for, despite the rising cost of living. But how much does the average person spend on holidays over the course of a year? The answer varies considerably depending on the country, disposable income, destination and number of trips taken.
To understand the picture, it is useful to start with data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and supplement it with figures from national statistical offices and surveys on household spending. However, three different indicators must be distinguished: total tourism expenditure, the cost of a single holiday and the amount people say they plan to spend on travel. Each provides a different perspective on how much travelling really weighs on individual and household budgets.
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How Much Do Italians Spend on Travel?
According to Italy’s national statistics office (Istat), Italian residents took more than 184 million trips in 2024, with associated spending of approximately euro 62.2 billion. The figure includes both domestic and international travel and illustrates the economic scale of tourism undertaken by Italian residents. It does not, however, represent a budget devoted exclusively to holidays abroad.
Average spending amounted to euro 337 per person per trip, but the difference between domestic and international destinations was substantial. For trips abroad, average expenditure rose to approximately euro 1,009 per person, compared with considerably lower amounts for domestic travel. Daily spending also varied: in 2024, the average was €77 across all trips, rising to euro 123 per day for international travel.
These figures show why it is not enough to look only at the cost of a summer holiday. Annual travel spending depends on how often people travel and how long they stay, as well as on transport, accommodation, meals and activities. A household taking several weekend breaks can spend a significant amount over the year even without planning a long-haul trip.
Germany and France: How Much Does a Main Holiday Cost?
In Germany, the Stiftung für Zukunftsfragen, a foundation that studies social trends, found that in 2024 the average cost of the main annual holiday was euro 1,544 per person. The survey, based on a representative sample of 3,000 adults, showed that spending had remained almost unchanged compared with 2023, but was nearly 50% above the long-term average. This figure refers to the main holiday, rather than the total cost of every trip taken during the year.
The destination made a substantial difference. A holiday within Germany cost an average of euro 1,060 per person, while a trip elsewhere in Europe averaged around euro 1,534. Long-haul travel was significantly more expensive, with an average cost of euro 2,672 per person. Among European destinations, Spain averaged euro 1,843, Greece euro 1,701 and Italy euro 1,449.
In France, meanwhile, annual research by Protourisme estimated the average holiday budget at euro 2,450 per household in 2024, down 7% from euro 2,638 the previous year. The survey also found that 63% of French people expected to take at least one trip during the year. The comparison with Germany requires caution: the French figure refers to an annual household budget, whereas the German figure measures the main holiday on a per-person basis.
The United States, the UK and Canada: The Impact of Travel on Household Budgets
In the United States, a Deloitte survey covering the 2025 holiday season found that respondents planning to travel between Thanksgiving and mid-January expected to spend an average of dollars 2,334. The figure relates to a specific period, not the entire year, and was 18% lower than in 2024. In the same survey, 54% of respondents said they intended to travel during the holiday season, highlighting how the desire to take a trip continues to compete with financial concerns.
In the United Kingdom, a 2024 study by Finder estimated that people planned to spend pounds 1,690 per person on holidays abroad, including flights, accommodation and spending money. This was 20% lower than the figure recorded in 2023. More than half of the adults surveyed, or 55%, expected to spend money on international travel. This highlights an important distinction: the average expenditure of people who actually travel is not necessarily representative of the entire population.
In Canada, official household expenditure statistics show that in 2023 an average household spent dollars 1,158 on air travel and dollars 1,102 on package holidays. These are two separate categories of annual expenditure. They do not necessarily represent the full cost of travel and should not be treated as a single individual travel budget. Overall, the figures suggest that travel is a significant household expense, although the ability to afford it depends heavily on income and each household’s spending priorities.
How Much Do People Really Spend on Travel? Understanding the Data
For a broader international perspective, the OECD also publishes data on international travel expenditure, measuring how much residents of a country spend when travelling abroad. In 2024, for example, international travel spending by German residents reached approximately dollars 116.8 billion, compared with dollars 119.2 billion for the United Kingdom and dollars 178.9 billion for the United States. These are national totals, not per-person figures, and they do not capture domestic travel in the same way. They are therefore useful for measuring the scale of international tourism flows, rather than establishing how much each individual spends.
The conclusion is that there is no universal annual travel budget. Available figures suggest that a main holiday can cost more than euro 1,500 per person in some European countries, while long-haul trips can easily exceed euro 2,500. Total annual expenditure, however, depends on how frequently people travel, household size and whether they choose domestic or international destinations. To compare countries fairly, it is necessary to consider disposable income, the cost of living, the number of trips taken and average spending per stay, without confusing planned budgets with actual expenditure.
