LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - June 5, 2009) - The summer vacation getaway tradition
remains sacred for the vast majority of Southern Californians even with
this year's economic turmoil, according to the second annual summer
vacation survey of more than 800 Automobile Club of Southern California
members.
Eighty-eight percent of surveyed members said they will take at least one
leisure trip this summer, while nearly eight out of ten (78 percent) plan
to travel at least as much as they did last summer and 70 percent say they
will spend at least as much on their trips as in 2008.
In 2008, by comparison, 89 percent of members said they would take at least
one summer trip, 67 percent said they would travel as much or more than the
previous summer, and 75 percent said they would spend as much or more on
travel compared to summer 2007.
"Two factors that are keeping this year's summer travel plans up among our
members are the significant discounts being offered from travel providers
and lower gas prices," said Kim Wilde, the Auto Club's group manager for
travel. "Our members have taken advantage of sales on vacation packages,
cruises, hotel and car rental rates and even airfares. Those who book their
trips well ahead of time are getting great deals and/or added incentives
that we have not seen prior to this year."
More than 40 percent of surveyed Southern California travelers plan to stay
within California for their first summer trip, with 7.2 percent indicating
they will visit San Diego, 3.2 percent planning a San Francisco trip, and
2.5 percent planning to visit Palm Springs. Las Vegas was the number one
destination for Southern Californian travelers' first summer trips, with
11.2 percent planning to visit there and 13.1 percent planning to visit
Nevada overall. Other popular destinations include Arizona (3.9 percent),
Mexico, Central and South America (3.7 percent), Hawaii (3.6 percent), New
York (3.4 percent) and Europe (3.3 percent).
The first trip of the summer for 58 percent of Southern Californians polled
will be by car, while 35 percent plan to fly, three percent will take a
recreational vehicle trip and two percent plan to take a cruise.
Of the Southern California members with travel plans, 28 percent plan to
take one summer trip, 29 percent will take two, 18 percent will take three,
six percent will take four, and seven percent will take five or more trips.
Almost one-quarter of polled travelers said they plan to spend less money
on summer trips this year than they did last year, compared to 20 percent
in 2008 who said they planned to spend less than in 2007. For those
planning to spend less in summer 2009, 54 percent cited concern about the
economy as a reason, 40 percent cited reduced income, 18 percent mentioned
concern about their job stability and nine percent cited the loss of a job.
By comparison, in 2008, the top cited reason for not spending as much on
travel was the drain on travelers' budgets from high gas prices, which was
mentioned by 85 percent of those who planned to spend less.
For their first trip of the summer, 25 percent of surveyed Southland
residents said they would spend less than $500, 32 percent planned to spend
between $500 and $1,000, 32 percent planned to spend $1000 to $3000, and 11
percent said they would spend more than $3,000.
When rating highly important reasons for taking their first trip of this
summer:
-- 88 percent said the vacation destination was a highly important factor
-- 73 percent cited cost
-- 65 percent said entertainment/recreation
-- 63 percent rated the ease of reaching the destination as highly
important
-- 57 percent cited proximity to family/friends
-- 40 percent rated a friend's/relative's recommendation as highly
important
-- 40 percent cited a special event
The first vacation of the summer for those surveyed will last between four
and seven days for 43 percent of travelers, three days or less for 36
percent of them, and eight days or more for 22 percent of local travelers.
Eighty-six percent of Southern California members surveyed said they would
be traveling with at least one other person to their first summer
destination, and 14 percent planned to travel alone.
The Auto Club's member summer travel poll was conducted via e-mail between
April 28 and May 7 by the Auto Club Marketing Research Department. On the
survey, a "trip" was defined as one with a distance at least 50 miles away
from home and involving an overnight stay.
More information about summer travel deals -- and free maps and TourBook
information for Auto Club members -- is available at any of the 75 Auto
Club offices throughout Southern California. Online travel planning is
available at
www.AAA.com.
Contact Information: CONTACT:
Marie Montgomery
Jeffrey Spring
(714) 885-2333