Vacationing Latinos Fly More Often, Spend More Than Non-Hispanics, Survey Finds

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It may not come as a surprise that Hispanics like to travel just as much as anyone else.

But hotel and airline companies should take note that Latinos not only tend to fly more frequently than non-Hispanics, they also spend more money on their vacations, according to a new survey by Think Now research.

“Regardless of income, Hispanics spend more money on average than non-Hispanics on domestic vacations, due at least in part to the fact that they are more likely to fly and because they have larger families,” the online survey, which was conducted between February and May of this year, reported.

Overall 79 percent of all Americans, Hispanic or not, say they take at least one vacation a year. But Hispanics (47 percent) are more likely than non-Hispanic travelers (41 percent) to fly to domestic destinations.

The difference is even more striking in upscale households that earn between $50,000 and $99,000 a year. According to Think Now, 55 percent of Latinos in that income range versus 41 percent of non-Latinos fly to their vacation destinations, and 77 percent of affluent Latinos – meaning households that make more than $100,000 a year – choose to fly, compared to 56 percent of non-Hispanic households.

Overall Latinos spend $2,359 dollars on average during vacations inside the United States. More than $350 above what the average non-Hispanic family spends. That difference is greater among families that earn more than $100,000 a year. Affluent Latino families spent $3,643 on average, $845 dollars more than the typical non-Hispanic family in the same income bracket.

The Think Now results were somewhat mixed for travel outside the U.S. Hispanics are significantly more likely than non-Hispanics to take vacations to international destinations – by a factor of 31 percent to 18 percent.

The top destinations for Latinos are the Caribbean, Mexico, South America, Canada and Central America.

However, the survey found that while traveling outside the U.S., Hispanics tend to spend less than non-Hispanics, by a factor of nearly $800 per trip. One possible explanation for that difference may be that Hispanics are staying with relatives on overseas trips, rather than in hotels.

Affluent Latino households traveling overseas do spend more than non-Hispanic households, however, by a wide margin – $8,754 versus $6,989 per trip.

Overall the purchasing power of U.S. Latinos is expected to hit $1.5 trillion in 2015, and it is growing faster than that of any other minority group.