American Pulse(TM): 59% Say Economy Impacting Vacation Budget This Year

COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - April 28, 2009) - Close to three in five (58.7%) Americans say that the down economy has affected their vacation plans, according to the April American Pulse™ Survey of 4,023 respondents. As a result, many are making changes to their travel behaviors.

According to the survey, the top ways consumers are coping are by reducing the total number of overnight stays at a hotel (30.5%), looking for a local get-away that does not require air travel (27.4%) and cutting back on quality of hotel (20.4%). (For complimentary list and additional data: http://americanpulse.bigresearch.com.)

Additionally, consumers weighed in on BIGresearch and Artafact's blog regarding if the economy has affected their summer vacation plans.

Has the down economy affected your summer vacation plans?

"Absolutely! We are not going to go on vacation at all this year. Instead we'll be staying home and doing a few day trips."

"Not at all. In fact, we're going to Hawaii for the first time in August. ...Wanting to do something memorable and be together is infinitely more important than any economy."

"Summer vacation plans are top of mind for consumers," said Linda Stegeman, President of Artafact. "On the blog, they seem to be split on whether plans will change due to the economy, but everyone is still watching their spending and looking to save money wherever they can... including vacations."

To voice your opinion on the BIGresearch Blog: http://peoplevoice.ning.com/

About American Pulse™

The American Pulse™ Survey is collected online by BIGresearch every month exclusively utilizing Survey Sampling International's (SSI) U.S. panel covering topics such as politics, pop culture and the economy. Over 4,000 respondents participate, providing greater insights into how Americans really feel about issues they currently face. The use of the online blog as a listening post to develop the questions posed in the monthly American Pulse survey is a very effective use of both online qualitative and quantitative research. http://www.bigresearch.com

About Artafact

For researchers who need a quick and easy solution for conducting online focus groups, Artafact is a virtual focus group facility that replicates a traditional focus group in a collaborative online environment. Artafact bulletin boards support consumer generated content, allowing respondents to create and manage discussion threads. More information is available at www.artafact.com.

About Survey Sampling International (SSI)

Survey Sampling International is the premier global provider of sampling solutions for survey research. SSI offers access to more than 6 million consumer and business-to-business research respondents in 54 countries via Internet, telephone, and mobile. Additional client services include custom profiling, survey programming and hosting, data processing, sampling consulting, and survey optimization. SSI serves more than 1,800 marketing research clients, including nearly three-quarters of the top researchers worldwide. Founded in 1977, SSI has an international staff of 400 people representing 50 countries and 36 languages. The company is based in Shelton, CT with 14 additional offices worldwide. http://www.surveysampling.com

Contact Information: Contacts: BIGresearch Chrissy Wissinger 614.846.0146 SSI Diane Urso 203.567.7236