Interest in U.S. 250th Anniversary Travel Is Driven by Experience

As we celebrate the United States' 250th anniversary, interest in traveling to commemorate the milestone is present but limited among adults age 50 and older, with 1 in 5 (22%) saying they are likely to take a commemorative trip.

Among those open to traveling, interest is not driven by the anniversary alone, but by the type of experience it offers. Meaningful trips are most often defined by tangible, place-based experiences — particularly visiting locations that played a role in U.S. history (20%) and participating in once-in-a-lifetime events (17%). In contrast, a modest share of respondents cite learning something new about U.S. history (11%), expressing patriotism (11%), or feeling personally connected to the nation’s past (7%) as experiences that would resonate with them — indicating that experiential depth is a stronger driver than symbolic appeal.  

Travel styles skew toward couples, with limited enthusiasm for large family trips 

When considering how they would take a 250th anniversary-related trip, adults 50-plus show a preference for smaller, more personal travel arrangements. Traveling as a couple is the most common choice (22%), followed by multigenerational family trips (14%), traveling with friends (10%), or joining a tour group (10%). Motivations tied to sharing experiences across generations, such as traveling with younger family members (9%), appeal to a smaller segment of the population. This reinforces the idea that the U.S. 250^th anniversary does not naturally lend itself to broad, family-wide travel demand as the primary reason for travel.

Methodology

Interviews were conducted from March 12 to 16, 2026 among 1,032 U.S. adults age 50-plus through NORC’s Foresight 50+ Omnibus. Funded and operated by NORC at the University of Chicago, Foresight 50+ is a probability-based panel designed to be representative of the U.S. household population age 50 or older. Interviews were conducted online and via phone. All data are weighted by age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, region, and AARP membership.

For more information, please contact Lona Choi-Allum at lallum@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.