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- Summary
- Contents
- Methodology
Publication Summary
With the economic landslide of 2009 behind them, Americans were eager to wipe the slate and start fresh in 2010. For many, however, it was not so easy to shake off the general unease that lingered over consumer confidence, yielding only a modest leisure travel recovery. Travel companies across the spectrum will benefit from a more positive traveler outlook in 2011, yet many questions remain: Which traveler segments are recovering most quickly? Is the appetite for certain types of trips stronger than for others? How influential is social media in decision-making?
PhoCusWright's Consumer Travel Report Third Edition provides a comprehensive view of the status of consumer travel in the U.S., helping travel companies adapt their operations for the ever-changing landscape of the consumer travel marketplace. This report reviews the dynamics that drove consumer travel behavior in 2010 and highlights key indicators for understanding trends in 2011. Based on an online survey of more than 2,500 U.S. consumers, the report examines travelers who play an active role in planning their leisure trips. In addition to tracking fundamental behaviors such as the incidence of travel, the report analyzes the influence of various media, typical booking methods and the motives behind consumer decisions.
Key topics include:
- Overall travel incidence, trip frequency and duration
- Travel spend and budget intentions for the coming year
- In-depth analysis of lodging and air travel trends, and purchase incidence for car rental, cruise, rail, vacation packages and destination activities
- Comparison of consumer behavior by phase: destination selection, shopping, purchasing and sharing
- How U.S. travelers decide where to go
- Information sources and online features that influence travel shopping decisions
- Travel booking channels and purchase behavior
Purchase today to gain deep insight into U.S. consumer behavior, attitudes and preferences.
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Table of Contents
44 Pages
Section 1: Overview, Methodology and Research Highlights
Section 2: General Travel Behavior
Overall Travel Incidence
Income Distribution
Trip Frequency
Trip Duration
Annual Household Travel Spend
Other General Travel Behaviors
Section 3: Travel Component Incidence and Intentions
Lodging and Air Travel Incidence
Types of Lodging
Section 4: The Online Travel Planning Process
Number of Websites Used
Section 5: The Destination Selection Phase
Section 6: The Shopping Phase
Section 7: The Travel Purchase Phase
Online vs. Offline Purchasing
Component Channel Purchase Behavior
OTA Shopping-to-Purchase Defectors
Appendix: Survey Respondent Demographical Information
LIST OF TABLES
U.S. Traveler Population
Incidence of Travel
Income Distribution Variance, 2009-2010
Annual Household Income Distribution by Age
Frequency of Leisure and Business Trips
Travel Frequency Intentions by Number of Leisure Trips Taken in Prior Year
Duration of Leisure Trips
Trip Duration Intentions by Longest Trip Taken in Prior Year
Annual Household Travel Spend
Trip Budget Intentions by Annual Household Travel Spend in Prior Year
Annual Household Travel Spend and Travel Incidence by Age
Trip Budget Intentions by Age
Travel Party Composition
International Travel Incidence
Lodging and Air Traveler Incidence
Annual Household Travel Spend and Trip Frequency by Lodging and Air Traveler Incidence
Intentions for Travel Product Consumption
Enjoyment of Lodging and Air Travel
Intentions for Travel Product Consumption, by Enjoyment
Travel Component Purchase Incidence
Usage of Lodging Types
Number of Lodging Types Used, by Annual Household Travel Spend
Usage of Lodging Types, by Annual Household Travel Spend
Number of Websites Used, by Phase
Mean* Number of Websites Used, by Planning Phase and Annual Household Travel Spend
Destination Selection Categories
Motivation for Last Trip to an Independently Selected Destination
Information Sources for Destination Selection
Websites Used for Destination Selection
Sources of Information Used in Shopping Phase
Websites Used for Shopping, by Incidence of Taking a Flight
Website Choice Motivation
Website Choice Motivation, by Annual Household Travel Spend
Influence of Online Features (Social Media)
Influence of Online Features (Rich Media)
General Travel Booking Channel
Typical Purchase Methods
Typical Purchase Methods by Age
Typical Purchase Methods
Purchase Method Used by Online Travel Agency Shoppers and 2010 Annual Household Travel Spend
General Demographics - Employment Status & Gender
Household Composition
Education and Age
Income
Respondent Geography and Population Density
Methodology
PhoCusWright fielded an online consumer survey January 19-25, 2011 through Global Market Insite, Inc., targeting the general U.S. population that has Internet access and travels for leisure.
To qualify for participation in the study, respondents had to indicate they had taken at least one leisure trip at least 75 miles from home in the past 12 months that included paid lodging and/ or air travel. An additional screener required consumers to have played an active role in planning their leisure trips. Respondents who qualified are referred to as "U.S. travelers." The term "lodging" is used in this report to refer to the broad range of paid accommodations - hotels and other nightly priced lodging products, as well as timeshares and vacation rentals.
PhoCusWright received 2,536 qualified responses, and the weighted respondent pool can be projected with confidence to the U.S. adult population with Internet access. A total of 6,064 respondents were surveyed to obtain baseline metrics about travelers and non-travelers within the general online population. The error interval for analysis of the U.S. traveler population is +/-1.95% at a 95% confidence level. Significant differences noted in this report were identified at a 95% confidence level.
Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Harris Interactive, PhoCusWright projects the number of U.S. adults with Internet access who have taken at least one leisure trip (as previously defined) to be 118 million people in 2010 (see Figure 1). These travelers represent 50% of the total U.S. population. The additional requirement for respondents to have played an active role in travel planning further tightens the focus of the study, as 13% of travelers were consequently disqualified. PhoCusWright's Consumer Travel Report Third Edition examines travelers who played an active role in planning their trips. These U.S. travelers represent 94 million consumers and 40% of the total U.S. adult population.
