U.S. Spending on Travel Hits a Record $1 Trillion

Last year Americans spent a record $1.05 trillion just getting around--whether it was traveling to work, making personal trips or going on vacation, the Hertz Corp. says.

The rental and leasing company’s third-annual travel “Mobile America” study, released last month, showed that more time and money were spent on vacations and commuting than in previous years. Business trips, although down in number, were also longer and more costly.

Another noticeable trend was that people have been relying less on travel agents for their business and pleasure travel, the study showed.

Using a population base of 238.7 million people, Americans last year traveled a total of more than 3.2 trillion miles--90% of that by car and truck, the study said. This is up 9.2% from 2.92 trillion miles traveled the previous year by 236.2 million people, when a total $947 billion was spent, Hertz said.

On a per-person basis, Americans each traveled almost 37 miles a day last year at an annual cost of $4,406, compared to almost 34 miles a day in 1984 and an average annual expenditure of $4,011.

Last year, Americans spent an additional $577 each on travel-related items such as luggage and clothing, for a $138- billion addition. Although overall travel costs were up, these expenses were substantially lower than in 1984, when individuals spent an average of $835 each on such items, a $177-billion total.