Market Intelligence: Holiday travel
| Thursday, Nov 05 2009 04:07 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Nov 05 2009 04:10 PM
Despite current recessionary times, six in ten U.S. adults (61 percent) plan to take a holiday trip this year; a slight improvement over 59 percent in 2008, according to a September 2009 survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs.
Many travelers have strong motivations for holiday travel, according to a 2009 Travel Guard Pulse Poll of travel agents. They include: "to visit relatives" (28 percent), "to escape the stress of holidays" (27 percent), and "to escape the cold weather" (20 percent).
American Express offers some good news for the travel industry. While 30 percent of U.S. consumers plan to adjust this year's Thanksgiving travel plans, only 21 percent expect those expenses to decrease compared to last year. According to their just released "Spending & Saving Tracker" report, 7 percent of consumers plan to drive instead of flying, 3 percent will shorten their stay, and 3 percent will use rewards points to offset costs. Nineteen percent of consumers who traveled last year will be staying home in 2009.
U.S. consumers living in the West are least likely to travel this holiday season. Thirty-one percent in the West say they will be traveling less or not at all compared to 29 percent in the Midwest, 28 percent in the South and 24 percent in the Northeast. (BIGresearch, Consumer Intentions & Actions, Oct. 2009)
Kern County perspective:
Airline passenger travel through Meadows Field has declined dramatically over the past year. Total passengers for the first six months dropped 35 percent from 157,996 in 2008 to 102,385 in 2009, according to their Web site, MeadowsField.com.
A survey of 2,023 Kern County adults, conducted in March 2009 by Scarborough Research, indicates Meadows Field lost ground as a point of departure over the past year, while Los Angeles International showed a slight improvement. Lower gas prices may have motivated local travelers to forego convenience and instead drive to Los Angeles.
Airport of departure ... Percentage of adults ... Change
Los Angeles International ... 23 percent ... +1 percent
Meadows Field ... 11 percent ... -2.4 percent
Overall vacation travel among Kern County adults also declined over the past year:
Type/ Destination ... Percentage of adults ... Change
Domestic travel ... 73 percent ... -2.5 percent
Pismo Beach ... 22 percent ... -4.6 percent
Foreign travel* ... 36 percent ... -3 percent
Mexico ... 24 percent ... -4 percent
Any hotel stay ... 53 percent ... -3.7 percent
Car rental ... 20 percent ... -2.4 percent
*Outside the continental U.S.
