12 August 2008

Staycation popularity debunked

The much-publicized popularity of those ââ¬Åâœstaycationsââ¬~ has obviously been overrated with a new survey of 2,231 US adults showing only nine percent are looking at home-based vacations.

That was a much lower percentage than expected by industry analysts.
While one in seven (14%) American leisure travelers said they had taken a "staycation" during the past six months, only one in 11 (9%) expects to do so during the next six month, according to the July 2008 Travel Industry Association/Ypartnership travelhorizonsT survey.

When asked about the reason(s) for their anticipated "staycation" vacation, respondents stated "gasoline prices are too high" (61%), "travel in general is too expensive" (44%), and "am cutting back on discretionary spending" (43%).

In a surprising revelation, among those adults planning to take a home-based vacation during the next six months, fully one out of five (22%, or 5.1 million adults) expects to stay in a local hotel, motel or resort at least one night on their "staycation."

"People taking 'staycations' are not necessarily entertaining themselves at home," said Roger Dow, president and chief executive officer of the Travel Industry Association (TIA). "On the contrary, many are participating in travel-related activities that generate significant revenues for restaurants, attractions, theme parks, as well as hotels and resorts."
Said Peter Yesawich, chairman of Ypartnership, coauthor of the survey:

"Although 'staycations' appear to be a real phenomenon, the results of this survey suggest that their potential negative impact on the domestic travel industry will be far less than expected based on the extensive coverage this phenomenon has received in the press."

Report by David Wilkening

• PRINT
• SEND TO A FRIEND
• SHARE

Post your comment

Your Comments

, be the first to post a comment.
Your email:

Your comment title:


Your comment:

Email other comments made to this story

5 characters