On Tuesday morning, I attended a breakfast press conference unveiling the research included in MMGY Global’s 2018–2019 Portrait of American Travelers study. Overall, it was an informative morning, and I will definitely keep the findings in mind as I begin to think about our 2019 editorial calendar.

Now in its 28^th year, MMGY Global’s Portrait of American Travelers is an in-depth examination of the impact of the current economy; social values; and emerging travel habits, preferences and intentions. The company surveyed 2,902 U.S. adults who had taken at least one overnight trip of 75 miles or more from home during the previous 12 months. The majority of the households surveyed have an annual household income of $50,000–124,999. Data was collected in February 2018.

A few key findings from the study:

• Thirty percent of travelers plan to take fewer vacations next year, the first time there has been a negative variance in intent to travel in the 12 years this question has been asked.
• However, travel spending will remain steady into 2019 as travelers invest more money and planning behind each vacation. The study suggests travelers are seeking more meaning behind vacations rather than more vacations.
• Food is a leading travel motivator, with 70 percent of travelers actually motivated to vacation to experience new cuisines.
• Among the top 10 cities Culinary Explorers are interested in visiting: Honolulu; the Florida Keys; Washington, D.C.; New Orleans and Boston.
• Wellness travelers make up 10 percent of all American travelers.
• The growing segment of wellness travelers spent $27.1 billion on leisure travel in the last year.
• Median age is 40 years for home-sharing travelers, and 47 percent of ride-sharing travelers are not millennials.
• Millennial families intend to spend more on vacations in the coming year than they did in previous years; this segment spent and intends to spend significantly more on leisure travel than their single or couple counterparts.
• Some of the destinations that saw the greatest increase in travel interest over the last five years of the study are New York City, Hilton Head Island and Niagara Falls; New Orleans is No. 1.
• Roadtrips are back in style: 51 percent of those surveyed took a road trip recently, with 60 percent likely to take one this year.

These few bullet points barely scratch the surface of the study but lead me to wonder: Where do you fall as a traveler? Do you find yourself in line with these findings, or are you an outlier? Do you travel for culinary purposes? For wellness? Share with us the portrait of you as a traveler at [email protected].

For more on the study, visit mmgyglobal.com.

— Kimberly Krol, editor in chief