Outside expert analysis prompts further discussion and perspective on travelers’ habits and attitudes.
NEW YORK – With families in the thick of planning their summer vacations, a new travel survey conducted by ExpertFlyer.com reveals, not surprisingly, that the majority (81%) of travelers believe taking a vacation is very important, citing exposure to beauty, culture and new people as the biggest benefit. The survey also discovered that despite vast technological leaps and the convenience of online search and booking, planning a vacation is still a time-consuming proposition with 51% of those polled saying they spend a minimum of 2-3 hours over multiple days hunting down airfare deals and nearly a one-third spending in excess of 4 hours over multiple days. The overwhelming majority (79%) also said they would relinquish some privacy issues to expedite security checkpoints and voiced what they want airlines to do to maintain their loyalty.
Regarded as the premier air travel information resource for business travelers and frequent flyers, ExpertFlyer conducted the survey with more than 1,200* consumer-based travelers subscribing to its free Seat Alerts app to determine their favorite destinations, airlines and award programs, how they pay for travel, and how they communicate with the world while on vacation and more. The illuminating results are illustrated in the survey's infographic.
"The goal of this survey was to gain an understanding of consumer trends to better service customers moving forward and hopefully provide the travel industry, in general, with some insight about what travelers want and ways to increase loyalty," explains Chris Lopinto, president and co-founder of ExpertFlyer.com.
Among the key survey highlights:
- 51% said they spend a minimum of 2-3 hours over multiple days to find airfare deals and 27% spend in excess of 4 hours over multiple days. 80% of respondents said they book their tickets directly from the airlines via the Internet
- 37% have taken additional travel precautions in the last 12 months and 79% said they would consider participating in a biotech ID program, such as fingerprint or retina scans if it meant reducing wait times at TSA checkpoints and improve overall security
- 65% said they were able to redeem points for either an upgrade or award ticket in the last 12 months (up from 58% in an ExpertFlyer survey conducted last year)
- TripAdvisor (62%), Airline apps (42%) and Uber (26%) were the top three free travel apps
- Email (88%), Text (63%) and Facebook (52%) were the top 3 communication tools used by travelers
A total of 1,226 consumers participated in the survey.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
