The ‘funflation’ effect: Why Americans are spending so much on travel and entertainment this summer
“娱乐通胀”效应：为什么美国人今年夏天在旅行和娱乐上花费如此之多？
Even while carrying $1.13 trillion in credit card debt, many Americans are still willing to splurge on travel and entertainment. But this summer it will cost even more thanks to “funflation,” a term economists use to explain the increasing price tags of live events as consumers hanker for the experiences they lost during the Covid years.
即使背负着1.13万亿美元的信用卡债务，许多美国人仍愿意在旅行和娱乐上挥金如土。但今年夏天，由于“娱乐通胀”，他们的花费将更高，经济学家用该术语解释现场活动的价格上涨，背后原因就是消费者渴望获得在新冠疫情期间失去的体验。
“I t’s hard to overstate the impact of the pandemic. It changed the way so many people view their spending, and the result is that people are more focused on the ‘right now’ than thinking about 40 years from now,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree.
“疫情影响不容小觑，它改变了许多人看待消费的方式，人们更关注‘现在’而不是40年后，”贷款树首席信贷分析师马特·舒尔茨说。
The price of ‘funflation’
“娱乐通胀”的代价
Some ticket prices have surged in recent months, according to federal data. Admission prices for sporting events jumped 21.7% in May 2024 from a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index data. The category saw the highest annualized inflation rate out of the few hundred that make up the inflation gauge. Admission to movies, theaters, and concerts rose a relatively modest 3% on an annualized basis.
根据联邦政府数据，一些门票价格近几个月来飙升。根据劳工统计局消费者价格指数数据，2024年5月体育赛事门票价格较去年同期上涨21.7%。在构成通胀指标的数百个类别中，该类别的年化通胀率最高。电影、剧院和音乐会的门票年化涨幅相对较小，为3%。
The CPI as a whole was up 3.3% in May from a year ago. The index gauges how fast prices are changing across the U.S. economy. It measures everything from haircuts to household appliances.
5月份，整体消费者价格指数较去年上涨3.3%。该指数衡量了美国经济中价格变化的速度，涉及到从理发到家用电器等所有方面。
Why Americans go all out on entertainment
为什么美国人在放肆娱乐
Despite rising costs, 38% of adults said they plan to take on more debt to travel, dine out and see live entertainment in the months ahead, according to a report by Bankrate. Meanwhile, 27% of those surveyed said they would go into debt to travel this year, while 14% would dip into the red to dine out and another 13% would lean on credit to go to the theater, see a live sporting event or attend a concert — including the European leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, Bankrate found.
根据银率网报告，尽管成本不断上涨，但38%的成年人计划在未来几个月内借更多钱去旅行、外出就餐和观看现场娱乐节目。银率网发现，与此同时有27%受访者今年会借钱去旅行，14%的人会负债外出就餐，还有13%的人会借钱去剧院、观看现场体育赛事或参加音乐会——包括泰勒·斯威夫特时代巡演欧洲站。
“ There’s still a lot of demand for out-of-home entertainment,” Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate, recently told CNBC. “Some of that reflects a ‘you only live once’ mentality that intensified during the pandemic, and some of that is because many economic indicators — including GDP growth and the unemployment rate — are in favorable shape,” Rossman said.
近期接受美国全国广播财经频道采访时，银率网高级行业分析师泰德·罗斯曼表示：“户外娱乐的需求仍然很大”。一部分反映了疫情期间愈演愈烈的‘生命只有一次’心态，还有一部分是因为许多经济指标（包括GDP增长和失业率）态势向好。
Younger adults, particularly Generation Z and millennials, were more likely to splurge on those discretionary purchases. Although an increased cost of living has made it particularly hard for those just starting out, young adults are taking a more relaxed approach to their long-term financial security, other research shows. Nearly two out of five Gen Z and millennial travelers have spent up to $5,000 on tickets alone for destination live events, a recent study from Bread Financial found.
年轻人，尤其是Z世代和千禧一代，更有可能在这些可自由支配的消费上大肆挥霍。其他研究表明，尽管生活成本上涨给刚步入社会的人带来了特别大的困难，但年轻人对他们的长期财务安全态度更加松弛。面包金融最近的研究发现，近五分之二的Z世代和千禧一代旅行者仅在目的地的现场活动门票上就花费了高达5000美元。
