What are travel & leisure ETFs?
Travel and leisure companies make money when people take trips and spend on time off. The products in this guide offer two different ways to invest in that spending. The Amplify Travel Tech ETF (AWAY) owns 29 travel technology stocks and follows the Prime Travel Technology Index NTR. That is a net total return index, which counts dividends after foreign withholding taxes. AWAY's largest holdings are Expedia Group (4.73%), Airbnb (4.49%), Booking Holdings (4.46%), WEB Travel Group (4.44%) and On the Beach Group (4.41%). Its top 10 make up 43.48% of the fund. AWAY is the only one that owns shares, so no stock is held by more than one product.
The other two are not stock funds. The MicroSectors Travel 3x Leveraged ETN (FLYU) and the MicroSectors Travel -3x Inverse Leveraged ETN (FLYD) are exchange-traded notes, or ETNs. BMO Financial Group issued both on June 21, 2022. An ETN is a bank's promise to pay a return linked to an index. No portfolio is set aside for holders, so they depend on the bank being able to pay. FLYU aims for three times the move of a travel index, and FLYD for three times the opposite. Products like these generally target a multiple of each day's move, which makes them tools for short-term trading.
AWAY's 0.75% a year is the lowest, highest and median expense ratio in the group, because the two ETNs carry their costs in the terms of the notes instead. AWAY is also small, with about $24.5 million in net assets. With only three products, all of the group's money sits in them. Small funds can have wider bid-ask spreads, the gap between the price paid and the price received when trading. They are also more likely to close than large ones.
How have travel & leisure ETFs performed?
The five largest ordinary funds: growth from the start of the range, distributions reinvested. The dashed gray line is the S&P 500 (SPY).
How travel & leisure ETFs did in past market crashes
| Fund | 2008 crash | 2020 crash | 2022 drop |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWAY | not yet launched | -49.8% | -37.6% |
| S&P 500 (SPY) | -55.2% | -33.7% | -24.5% |
Total return from the stock market’s peak to its low in each fall, distributions reinvested.
What drives travel & leisure ETFs?
Travel is spending people can put off. When jobs are plentiful and household budgets have room, more people book flights, hotels and vacation rentals. When money gets tight, trips are among the first things cut. Travel technology companies such as Expedia Group, Booking Holdings and Airbnb earn fees or commissions on bookings. Their revenue rises and falls with the number and price of trips. Profits also depend on how much they spend on advertising to win customers, on competition with each other and on local rules, such as limits on short-term rentals. Events that stop travel outright, such as a pandemic, hit them hardest.
AWAY's record shows that sensitivity. In the 2020 COVID-19 crash, weeks after the fund launched, AWAY fell 49.8%, against 33.7% for the S&P 500. In the 2022 bear market, a long slide in stock prices, AWAY dropped 37.6% while the S&P 500 lost 24.5%. AWAY did not exist during the 2008 financial crisis, when the S&P 500 fell 55.2%. FLYU and FLYD launched partway through 2022. Their 3x and -3x designs magnify each day's swings in their travel index.
Travel & leisure ETFs with the lowest expense ratios
| # | Fund | Expense ratio | On $10,000 | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AWAY Amplify Travel Tech ETF | 0.75% | $75 a year | $24.5M |
Ordinary funds with at least $10 million in net assets. The median ordinary travel & leisure ETF charges 0.75% a year; leveraged and inverse funds usually charge more.
Do travel & leisure ETFs pay dividends?
None of the 1 ordinary travel & leisure ETFs with a page here paid distributions over the last 12 months.
How to choose a travel & leisure ETF
- Stock fund or leveraged note. AWAY owns 29 travel technology stocks. FLYU and FLYD are BMO exchange-traded notes that own nothing. They aim for three times a travel index's move, or the opposite, generally one day at a time.
- Annual cost. AWAY's 0.75% a year is the lowest cost in the group and the only fund expense ratio. The costs of FLYU and FLYD are built into the terms of the notes, which BMO sets out in its offering documents.
- How AWAY picks and weights stocks. AWAY follows the Prime Travel Technology Index NTR. Its weights are fairly even: each of its five largest holdings, led by Expedia Group, is between 4.41% and 4.73%, and its top 10 make up 43.48%.
- Fund size and trading costs. AWAY has about $24.5 million in net assets, which is small for an ETF. Small funds can have wider bid-ask spreads and are more likely to close, which can create taxable gains.
- Who stands behind the investment. AWAY's stocks are held for its shareholders. FLYU and FLYD are unsecured debt of BMO Financial Group, so their value also depends on BMO being able to pay, whatever travel stocks do.
- How long you plan to hold. As of October 27, 2026, FLYU lost 36.4% and FLYD lost 24.7% over the same year. Products like these generally reset daily, so results over months can end up far from three times the index.
What are the risks of travel & leisure ETFs?
- Travel is cut first in downturns. AWAY fell 49.8% in the 2020 COVID-19 crash, against 33.7% for the S&P 500. In the 2022 bear market it fell 37.6%, against 24.5%. Trips are easy to put off, so travel sales can drop fast.
- Large swings in a single year. As of October 27, 2026, AWAY's one-year volatility, a measure of how much its price moves around, was 23.9%. Its worst drop over that year was 29.5%, and its one-year return was -23.9%.
- A narrow, small corner of the market. AWAY holds 29 travel technology stocks such as Expedia Group, Airbnb and Booking Holdings. Its top 10 make up 43.48%, and it has about $24.5 million in assets. Weak results or price competition among booking platforms can hurt the whole fund.
- 3x notes can lose in both directions. As of October 27, 2026, FLYU's one-year volatility was 75.3% and FLYD's was 78.8%. Their worst drops were 50.9% and 60%. Both lost money over that year, which shows how daily resets can wear away leveraged returns.
- ETNs depend on the issuing bank. FLYU and FLYD are unsecured notes from BMO Financial Group, not funds holding stocks. If BMO could not pay, holders could lose money even if travel stocks moved the way they expected.
Leveraged and inverse travel & leisure ETFs (3x)
These funds aim for a multiple, or the opposite, of one day’s return, and reset every day. Held for longer than a day, their results can drift far from that multiple, especially when prices swing. They are trading tools, not long-term holdings. Why leveraged ETFs decay →
List of all travel & leisure ETFs, by size
| # | Fund | Net assets | Cost | Yield | YTD | 1 yr | 5 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AWAY Amplify Travel Tech ETF | $24.5M | 0.75% | 0% | -19.3% | -23.9% | -9.2% |
Questions investors ask about travel & leisure ETFs
What is the largest travel ETF?
The Amplify Travel Tech ETF (AWAY) is the largest fund in this travel and leisure group, with about $24.5 million in net assets. It is also the only one that owns stocks. Its 29 holdings are travel technology companies such as Expedia Group, Airbnb and Booking Holdings. The other two products, FLYU and FLYD, are BMO exchange-traded notes. Notes are bank debt rather than funds, so they don't have fund assets in the usual sense.
What is the cheapest travel ETF?
AWAY has the lowest cost, at 0.75% a year. It is also the only product in the group with a fund expense ratio, the yearly fee taken out of fund assets. FLYU and FLYD are exchange-traded notes, so their costs are set by the terms of the notes instead. The three are built so differently that cost alone says little about how each will behave.
AWAY vs FLYD: what's the difference?
AWAY owns travel stocks and rises when they do. FLYD is a BMO note that aims for three times the opposite of a travel index's move, so it is built to gain when that index falls. AWAY holds 29 stocks for 0.75% a year, and FLYD holds none. As of October 27, 2026, both lost money over one year: AWAY 23.9% and FLYD 24.7%. Over three years, AWAY returned 3.9% and FLYD -59.2%.
Do travel ETFs pay dividends?
Not in any meaningful way. AWAY's yield was 0% as of October 27, 2026, so it paid little or nothing in dividends. FLYU and FLYD are notes rather than baskets of stocks, so they don't hold dividend-paying shares. For retirees who count on income from their savings, any return here would have to come from price changes, and those can be steep in either direction.
Which travel ETF holds Airbnb?
AWAY does. Airbnb is its second-largest holding at 4.49%, just behind Expedia Group at 4.73% and ahead of Booking Holdings at 4.46%. AWAY spreads its money fairly evenly across 29 stocks, so Airbnb's results move the fund less than they would in a more concentrated portfolio. FLYU and FLYD hold no shares of Airbnb or any other company. They are BMO notes linked to a travel index.
How many travel ETFs are there?
This guide covers three US-listed travel and leisure products: the Amplify Travel Tech ETF (AWAY), the MicroSectors Travel 3x Leveraged ETN (FLYU) and the MicroSectors Travel -3x Inverse Leveraged ETN (FLYD). Only AWAY is a fund that holds stocks. FLYU and FLYD both come from BMO Financial Group and launched on June 21, 2022. They are leveraged exchange-traded notes, so AWAY is the group's only plain stock fund.
What are FLYU and FLYD?
They are leveraged exchange-traded notes from BMO Financial Group. FLYU aims for three times a travel index's move, and FLYD for three times the opposite. Products like these generally reset daily, so over longer periods their results can end up far from three times the index. As of October 27, 2026, both lost money over one year: FLYU 36.4% and FLYD 24.7%. Their one-year volatility was 75.3% and 78.8%. That makes them trading tools for people who watch positions closely, not long-term holdings.
How do you invest in the travel industry through ETFs?
Through an ordinary brokerage account or an individual retirement account (IRA), since ETF shares trade on an exchange like single stocks. In this group, the stock fund is AWAY. It tracks the Prime Travel Technology Index NTR and spreads money across 29 travel technology companies, such as Expedia Group, Airbnb and Booking Holdings, for 0.75% a year. FLYU and FLYD also trade on an exchange. As 3x and -3x notes, they are built for short-term trading rather than long-term ownership.
Is there a Vanguard, Fidelity or Schwab travel & leisure ETF?
No. None of the three offers a travel & leisure ETF. The largest travel & leisure ETFs come from Amplify (AWAY), and customers of all three firms can buy other companies’ ETFs in their brokerage accounts.
