Six out of ten Americans plan to vacation 100 miles or more away from home during 2010, according to newly-released results of a consumer survey commissioned by the U.S. Tour Operators Association. Of those, an average 45% said they would travel in the shoulder or off season to save money, reflecting the still tentative economy…
Six out of ten Americans plan to vacation 100 miles or more away from home during 2010, according to newly-released results of a consumer survey commissioned by the U.S. Tour Operators Association. Of those, an average 45% said they would travel in the shoulder or off season to save money, reflecting the still tentative economy.
Major goal to see friends, family
For most vacationers (60%), the major goal will be spending time with friends or family. Relaxation ranked second in importance, with seeing new sites ranking third. Significantly, in 2009 time with family ranked as the second most important quality in planning a vacation, after affordability.
Women valued spending time with family or friends higher than men as a vacation goal. Not surprisingly, the survey revealed that younger adults, aged 18-34 are significantly more likely than their older counterparts to vacation for the sake of having a new experience, and people with higher incomes and education are more likely to vacation this year. Previous surveys since 2008 have also revealed that those with higher incomes of $50,000+, have been consistently more likely to travel.
People planning closer to vacation
The majority (58%) said they will make their travel plans six months or less in advance, with an average 32% planning in less than three months, slightly up compared to 2009, when 25% said they would plan within three months of departure.
Convenience is main factor for choosing tours
Of those Americans vacationing this year, a full 60% said they would consider taking a tour. When asked why, an average 40% cited the convenience of having everything arranged, outweighing other factors.
An average one out of three said they would take a tour to save money. Taking a tour for security reasons came in as the least important reason, according to the survey.
"The potential to take a tour is clearly there. In 2008 and 2009, 60% of respondents believed that vacation packages offered more value, but in 2008 only 6% said they would take a packaged tour to save money. Clearly, our mission is to convert that potential into sales, and this is where we need the help of the travel agent community" says John Stachnik, USTOA Chairman.
And, over 80% of all respondents plan to book their own vacations, a slight increase from 2009 and 2008, when approximately 75% of Americans said they like to make all their travel arrangements themselves.
The survey, conducted on behalf of USTOA, consisted of two components: a telephone survey of 1035 adults, conducted by the Lieberman Group; and an online survey of 1059 adults, conducted by Valient Solutions Market Research.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
