ORLANDO, Fla. (August 11, 2011) - Make
today matter:
that’s the mantra of today’s resourceful and increasingly experiential
travelers, according to the newly released Ypartnership/Harrison Group
2011
Portrait of American Travelers(SM).
This national survey of just over 2,500 adults tracks the
emerging travel habits, preferences and intentions of American leisure
travelers and provides valuable insights into the motivations that
guide their
planning and purchasing behavior.
At the core of this year’s findings is the sustained sense
of “new resourcefulness” embraced by travelers, a response to
Americans’
unwavering commitment to travel despite persistent economic concerns.
Americans
treasure their leisure and vacation time - citing travel as their
number two
passion behind family, the survey found. These travelers are also
savvier and
more self-reliant since the arrival of the Great Recession, however.
Also
enabled by the continued growth of the Internet, they are more
determined than
ever to obtain the most value from their travel purchases - though
their
definition of this is no longer based on price alone.
What does this mean for the year ahead in the travel
industry? The 2011 Portrait of American Travelers(SM) reveals the
following key
trends:
THE YEAR AHEAD
- More than three-quarters of U.S. consumers (77 percent)
agree they "have become a much smarter shopper thanks to today's
economic situation;"
- Among leisure travelers who have used the Internet to
obtain travel information or to make a reservation, more than eight in
ten say the most desirable features in a travel-service supplier
website are the ability to check the lowest fares/rates (84 percent)
and the lowest price/rate guarantee (82 percent);
- Fully three in ten (30 percent) leisure travelers took a
"staycation" - an overnight trip within a 50-mile drive radius of their
home - as an alternative to a vacation requiring a greater travel
distance within the past 12 months, a significant increase from 26
percent taking such a trip in 2010;
- Nearly two in three travelers (64 percent) say they are
willing to pay full price if they are guaranteed the quality and
service they believe they deserve;
- Experience-based travel involving family and friends rules:
the leading types of leisure trips remain visiting friends and
relatives (50 percent) and family vacations (42 percent);
- Roughly one-half of leisure travelers (44 percent) have
participated in outdoor activities such as a beach/lake trip,
camping/hiking/climbing, snow skiing/boarding, fishing, golf,
adventure/outfitting or hunting on a vacation during the previous year;
- Fully seven in ten leisure travelers (70 percent) have
taken a "celebration vacation" in the past 12 months, coincidental with
the recognition of a significant "life event" such as milestone
birthday or anniversary;
- Nearly one-third of leisure travelers (30 percent) have
taken a last-minute leisure trip (booked, on average, six days prior to
departure) during the past 12 months;
- Two in ten (20 percent) leisure travelers purchased a
travel service as a result of a flash sale - a time-sensitive offer
delivered through an unexpected email from a travel-service supplier;
- The Caribbean (34 percent), Europe (33 percent) and Mexico
(26 percent) remain the top international destinations visited by
American travelers during the past two years;
- The percentage of travelers who have downloaded a
smartphone travel app jumped from 19 percent last year to 28 percent in
2011;
- The majority of leisure travelers belong to one or more
frequent-flyer (68 percent) or frequent-guest programs (57 percent);
- Roughly two in ten active leisure travelers (18 percent)
utilized the services of a traditional travel agent in the past 12
months, and younger travelers (Millennials) are slightly more likely to
book through a travel agent than their older counterparts;
- Social media are gaining credibility as a trusted
information source: among those who have visited an online community,
travel forum or blog to seek and/or review information about a
destination or service provider, three out of five leisure travelers
(61 percent) visited TripAdvisor prior to booking a hotel reservation,
while one in five (18 percent) visited YouTube in the past 12 months;
- One-third of travelers (33 percent) have visited an online
community, travel forum or blog to seek and/or review information about
a destination or travel-service supplier during the past 12 months.
The Ypartnership/Harrison Group 2011
Portrait of American
Travelers(SM) is a national survey of 2,539 U.S. households that was
conducted
in March 2011. The results provide an in-depth examination of the
impact of the
current economic environment, social values and media practices on the
travel
habits of Americans with an annual household income of $50,000 or more
who have
taken at least one leisure trip of 75 miles or more from home requiring
overnight accommodations during the previous 12 months. For more
information,
please visit the Publications section of http://www.ypartnership.com.
Ypartnership is America's leading
marketing services
company serving travel, leisure, hospitality and entertainment clients.
The
agency's Insights group is widely acknowledged as the preeminent source
of
market intelligence on emerging business and leisure travel trends. For
more
information, visit http://www.ypartnership.com
Stay current on our research findings and
client
activities by following Ypartnership Public Relations on Twitter
(@Ytravels) or
on Facebook (http://facebook.com/YpartnershipFB).
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