Buffalo, New York (WBEN) – Have you ever decided to do something because of FOMO (fear of missing out)?
65% percent of Gen Z and 58% of Millennials surveyed in a new study from AAA and Bread Financial say they have traveled in the past 12 months and/or plan to travel in the next 12 months to in-person 50+ events. miles from home, such as live concerts, sporting events, comedy shows and book readings, with more than a third of respondents saying their plans are rooted in their FOMO beliefs.
Kevin Fairbanks-Bloom, senior travel consultant at Western and Central New York AAA, uses Taylor Swift’s European tour opening as a prime example of artists influencing the travel and spending habits of the younger generation.
“People are spending between $500 and $5,000 for a ticket,” Bloom says. “And that’s not even saying ‘I’m getting a special box’ or anything like that. It’s just going to the event. And we’ve also seen that people are even willing to go to a foreign country to get tickets because it’s cheaper than to buy tickets for the event here in the US. So it was also incredible to see that factor into what’s happening.
Bloom also notes that the same goes for sporting events. AAA says it has a lot of interest from people who traveled to London last year to see the Buffalo Bills take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.
According to research, FOMO plays a substantial role in influencing live event ticket purchases, with 34% of all travelers admitting it played a role in their decision. 54% of Gen Zers often feel compelled to make event travel purchases based on FOMO, 83% of Baby Boomers say they resist such pressures.
Additionally, younger generations (Gen Z – 44%, Millennials – 43%) emerge as the demographic most pressured to spend money on events they didn’t want to attend, which could result in some raids on savings or even take on a small debt.
“Some people are honest and say, ‘I really want to do this. And so I borrowed money, I’m putting it on my credit card,’ or they actually took on a temporary part-time job to make sure they got the money to spend and They’re not making a mistake on this trip. Sometimes it’s all about finding accommodation that fits the budget. It may be unique, but if they really want to do the event, they’re finding a way to make it work, as long as, of course, they’re keeping the rent paid and food on the table.”
Despite a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco that shows Americans estimate that the global surplus of pandemic savings remaining in the U.S. economy has turned negative and suggests that American households have fully spent their pandemic-era savings as of March 2024, people are still finding ways to save and take their annual leave.
Did travel expenses contribute to the rather rapid deterioration of these COVID funds? Short answer – not the funds for those who could not pay.
According to the US Labor Bureau of Statistics, the highest percentage of respondents reported spending or expecting to spend their stimulus payment on food (66%), followed by utilities and telecommunications (50%) and household supplies and personal care (47% ) .
Bloom mentions that there was a significant amount of international travel in 2023 compared to 2019 and in 2024, international travel is expected to increase.
“That right off the bat means people were spending the money they saved. And this year, we’ve also seen that the numbers are doing as good, if not better, than they were in 2023. That means people are also saying, you know, ‘Okay, I’m back to my normal self and I’m not afraid to travel. , I will go on my normal trips.’ And we are seeing expensive travel. I’ve had three requests in the last six weeks for a honeymoon in Japan. The last time I had three bookings for Japan was before COVID. people are traveling back around the world again and for special occasions or special events. They are willing to spend the money on anything.”
