Early Summer for Travel Service Providers

04/05/2006

Pack the kids, round up the bags, we're off...

Americans are already getting excited about their summer vacations. That means business, big business.

Figures from the Travel Association Industry of America (TIA), show that travel and tourism generate about $1.3 trillion in economic activity in the US every year. This equates to about $3.4 billion a day or $40,000 a second. A great deal of this activity is crammed into the summertime, when school is out and families take off to see the country.

According to the new TIA/Synovate "Voice of the Traveler Survey," a substantial majority (81%) of Americans who are planning to travel this summer have already started making plans for their longest summer trip.

The survey found that 43% of those now planning their vacations are planning the same time as they did last year and 30% are planning earlier than they did last year.

"The message for travel marketers is that many travelers are making summer travel destination choices very early in the year, and they may want to launch summer travel campaigns earlier this year than in the past," said Sheri Lambert of Synovate.

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21% of Americans who are planning to travel this summer have already arranged lodging at their destination, according to the survey. The rest are either exploring their options or have not thought much about their summer trip at all.

When it comes to deciding how to travel, 38% of those surveyed have decided on or booked their mode of transportation, while almost 50% are still exploring their options.

As for demographic targeting, the survey found that women are more likely than men to be thinking about the details of their summer trip. 85% of the women who planned a summer vacation were already considering their options, compared with 77% of male travelers.

Online and off, for travel marketers, the busy season has already begun.

Source: emarketer.com
April 5,2006