News for the Hospitality Executive |
Summer Leisure Travel Outlook Remarkably Stable in Down Economy
Research
Shows Americans' Travel Intentions, Spending Expectations Same or
Better than Last Year
WASHINGTON, DC -- Americans are expected to take 322 million domestic leisure person-trips during June, July and August 2009, according to the annual summer travel forecast by the U.S. Travel Association. Although a decline of 2.2 percent from summer 2008, leisure travel remains resilient in the current economic climate. Consumers are expected to take an average of two trips this summer, stay approximately seven nights away from home and spend more than $900 on their longest summer trip.
"Travelers' resilience is
good news for the travel industry and the entire American economy,"
said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.
"According to our forecast, Americans will do their part this summer to
stimulate the economy, save and create jobs and strengthen communities
from coast-to-coast." Source: U.S. Travel Association
The April 2009 travelhorizonsTM survey by the U.S. Travel Association and Ypartnership, a critical component of the summer travel forecast, shows that an estimated 54 percent of American households are planning to take at least one leisure trip this summer, compared to 50 percent at the same time last year. While Americans are still watching their travel budgets and other discretionary spending, more than half (51 percent) of these leisure travel planners expect to spend the same amount on their summer vacations this year. "Consumer spending intentions for this summer
are consistent with the patterns we have observed in earlier travelhorizonsTM and
other recent survey work," said Peter C. Yesawich, chairman of
Ypartnership. "Americans continue to shop aggressively for value
pricing when purchasing travel services."
The travelhorizonsTM
survey also revealed:
While the domestic leisure travel market has been fairly resilient, a more concerning trend is the expected 9 percent decline in international travel to the United States for full-year 2009, including a 7 percent decline in overseas travel. Because international travelers spend more money, averaging $4,500 per trip to the U.S., increasing travel to the United States is the most efficient form of economic stimulus.
A nationally coordinated travel promotion campaign would save U.S. jobs and kick-start economic recovery. Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and John Ensign (R-NV) yesterday introduced the "Travel Promotion Act of 2009" (S. 1023) and a similar bill is expected to be introduced soon in the House of Representatives. This legislation can stimulate U.S. economic growth, create thousands of new American jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenue for communities across the country. travelhorizonsTM is a quarterly online
survey of U.S. adults age 18+ conducted on behalf of U.S. Travel and
Ypartnership by Synovate. Responses were received from 2,250 U.S.
adults surveyed between
April 21 - 30, 2009
The U.S. Travel Association is the
national, non-profit organization representing all components of the
$770 billion travel industry. U.S. Travel's mission is to promote and
facilitate increased travel to and within the United States. For more
information, visit www.ustravel.org.
Ypartnership is a worldwide advertising and public
relations agency that specializes in serving travel, leisure and
entertainment-industry clients and is co-author of the widely acclaimed
National Travel MONITORSM with Yankelovich, Inc. For more information,
visit www.ypartnership.com.
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Contact:
Kristy Chandler 202.408.2183 [email protected] Noel Perkins, Ypartnership 407-875-1111 |