New Origin Data Shows That the Travel Spending Divide Is Very Real
It’s that time of year when it kind of feels like everyone you know is on a gorgeous vacation — or at least everyone you follow on Instagram. From glamorous jaunts to the south of France, hiking trips with breathtaking vistas in a region that is not easy to get to, or weeks on beaches where people use “summer” as a verb, none of the types of trips that take over our feeds in July and August are particularly cheap.
In fact, new data from Origin reveals that a decent chunk of summer travellers are really shelling out this summer: Nearly a quarter (24%) of respondents to an Origin survey on summer spending said they are spending $5,000 or more on summer travel. Another 20% said they’re spending between $2,500 and $5,000 on trips this season.
The responses also reveal another trend that sometimes makes the Instagram vacations feel even more out of reach: The travel spending divide is real. A full 20% of respondents said they are spending $0 on travel — because they’re not going on vacation at all this summer. Another 18% of respondents said they’re spending less than $1,000, which means that nearly 40% are spending under $1,000, a sharp contrast to the nearly 45% spending $2,500 or more.
Survey respondents were all readers of The Gist, Origin’s bi-weekly newsletter focusing on personal finance and market analysis — so these travel and vacation responses choices are coming from an audience particularly attuned to wealth-building and spending smartly. With that in mind, it’s hard to extrapolate a “why” with regard to this spending gap. Since travel is a big-ticket item when it comes to discretionary spending, it’s likely that people on the lower end this summer are saving up for other things, like a wedding or a downpayment — or they are simply tightening their belts as the economic outlook continues to look a bit uncertain in the coming months.
Answers to your questions
Yes. Origin offers partner access so you can manage your finances together at no additional cost. You’ll be able to filter transactions by member—making it easy to see which spending is yours and which belongs to your partner.
Yes. You can edit existing transactions and add new ones directly in Origin, so your records stay accurate and personalized.
Origin connects securely through trusted partners including Plaid, MX, and Mastercard.
Yes. Origin supports CSV uploads. You can upload a .csv file of your transactions, and we’ll import them into your account.
Yes. Your data is protected with bank-level security and advanced encryption. When you connect accounts through Origin, your login credentials are never shared with us. Instead, our partners generate secure tokens that let Origin access only the data you authorize—keeping your personal information private while enabling personalized insights.
Yes. You have full control to organize your spending in Origin. Transactions are automatically categorized by Origin, but you can always edit categories, add your own tags, and filter transactions however you like—so your spending reflects the way you actually manage money.
