Americans remain vacation-minded despite recession
Some observers think negative news has so dominated the industry that people forget: travelers are still taking vacations, as shown by a new poll by Travel Leaders.
The travel agent network’s nationwide survey found that nearly 84 percent of travelers have already taken at least one leisure trip this year, while 88 percent said they have one planned before the end of the year.
“In this country, vacations are considered a right and the results of this survey help bolster that notion,” Roger Block, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group, said in a release. He added:
“Given the economy, we are tremendously encouraged by these findings.”
Key survey findings:
• The average spending on leisure trips in 2009 was the same or more for nearly 75 percent of respondents.
• As to where consumers are going on their leisure trips – more than two-thirds indicated their trip(s) were within the United States and further than a bordering state.
• An overwhelming majority (88 percent) of survey participants indicated they will take (at least) one leisure trip in the remaining months of 2009.
• Planning for 2010 leisure trips has already begun for 88.6 percent of survey participants.
• The key reason for taking a leisure trip in 2009 was “rest and relaxation” – cited by 70.5 percent of participants. Second was “We take one every year” (53.8 percent) and third was “We needed to get away” (48.9 percent).
• Another 23.3 percent said they “couldn’t pass up the deals/discounts.”
By David Wilkening
David
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