Soaring Travel Costs Are Weighing on Even the Wealthiest Vacationers, WSJ Study Shows

Wealthy individuals remain just as interested in travelling as they were last year, but costs have become a larger factor in their plans, according to a Global Travel Study conducted by WSJ Intelligence between June 27-July 19.

Of the 879 Wall Street Journal readers surveyed—who had an average age of 56, were 79% male, and had an average net worth of about US$3.5 million—94% intend to travel for leisure in the next 12 months, down just 1% from 2023. Additionally, 64% plan to travel internationally, up from last year’s 60%.

Travellers are most concerned about costs amid ongoing inflation and other economic challenges, even as 80% of respondents say they plan to increase or maintain their travel spend compared to last year.

The cost of flights and hotels is the top factor of importance for WSJ readers, with 78% concerned about prices, a nine-point increase from 2023.

“Travel is still on the up—our readers are still really enthusiastic,” says Carolyn Romano, associate director of Luxury Lifestyle Intelligence at The Wall Street Journal. “But at the same time, it’s yet another year of market volatility and inflation, so I just think they’re being a little bit more thoughtful about the way that they’re traveling.”

Availability of flights and hotels is the second-biggest issue for travellers, with 76% of readers responding that it is a factor of importance for them.

Notably, as factors of importance, both loyalty programs and discounts and deals are up 10 percentage points year over year. Romano says this increase is “pretty significant.”

“Our reader approaches every purchase as an investment of some sort, and even our reader is still taking all of these factors into consideration,” she says.

Despite rising costs, the post-Covid enthusiasm for travel remains, with 70% of respondents traveling more than they have in the past. Over the next 12 months, WSJ readers’ average anticipated spend on leisure travel is US$18,305, up from last year’s US$18,250.

As for destinations, 86% of respondents are considering traveling to Europe, down just 1% from last year. Italy is the top European country of choice—superseding the U.K.—seeing a 9% annual increase in interest.

Though most destinations, both international and domestic, included in the survey saw similar interest as last year, traveling to Asia is up 10 points from 2023, with 40% of respondents considering booking a trip to the continent. Japan ranks the highest, with 61% of respondents considering traveling there, up 6% from last year.

When making travel plans, 72% of WSJ readers say they go to family and friends for recommendations. Only 13% report consulting a travel agent, though people taking cruises are much more likely to use a travel agent.

In high-end homes, the most telling upgrades are no longer the obvious ones.

It’s not just the marble in the kitchen or the view from the terrace. Increasingly, it’s the rooms you don’t see, and how well they actually work.

The laundry is a perfect example.

Once treated as a purely functional space, it is now being reconsidered by architects and homeowners alike as a zone where performance, hygiene and design need to align.

And for buyers operating at the top end of the market, that shift is less about aesthetics and more about control.

Because in a home where everything is curated, inefficiency stands out.

ASKO’s latest “Laundry Care 2.0” range leans directly into that mindset, positioning the laundry as a long-term investment rather than a basic appliance purchase.

Built on more than 75 years of engineering, the Scandinavian brand’s latest systems focus on durability, precision and what is becoming a defining luxury in modern homes: quiet.

One of the more telling innovations is something most buyers would never think to question until it fails.

Traditional washing machines rely on rubber seals that trap dirt and bacteria over time. ASKO replaces that entirely with a steel solution designed to maintain a cleaner, more hygienic drum.

It’s not a headline feature. But it is exactly the kind of detail buyers tend to notice.

Then there is the issue of noise.

As open-plan living has become standard in prestige homes, the background hum of appliances has gone from unnoticed to intrusive.

ASKO’s suspension system is engineered to minimise vibration almost entirely, allowing machines to run without disrupting the wider home environment.

In practical terms, that means a load can run late at night without carrying through the house. In lifestyle terms, it means the home functions as intended.

The same thinking extends to the drying process. Uneven loads, tangled fabrics and repeat cycles are treated as inefficiencies rather than inconveniences, with technology designed to keep garments moving evenly and reduce wear over time.

For buyers, this is where the value proposition sharpens.

It is not about having more features. It is about removing friction.

Less maintenance. Less noise. Less time spent correcting what should have worked the first time.

In that sense, modern laundry is no longer just a utility. It is a reflection of how a home performs behind the scenes, and whether it lives up to the expectations set by everything else.

Because at this level, luxury is not just what you see.

It is what you don’t have to think about.

Soaring Travel Costs Are Weighing on Even the Wealthiest Vacationers, WSJ Study Shows

For affluent homeowners, the laundry is no longer a utility space. It’s becoming a performance-driven investment in hygiene, longevity and seamless living.