A Harris Poll survey finds that the sluggish economy is still feeding into sluggish vacation plans. However, despite the fact that about a third of all Americans say the economy will keep them at home, more are hitting the road and fewer are staying home than last year.
64% are planning to travel this summer, up from 60% in 2012, and 43% say the state of the economy does not play any role whatsoever in their decision.
34%, on the other hand, say the state of the economy is likely to keep them at home this year. That number is also slightly improved compared to 2012, when 36% said the same.
Summer business travel is scaling down, according to Harris, with 17% expecting one or more such trips compared to 19% in 2012 and 23% in 2009.
Men are exhibiting the most wanderlust – 68% expect leisure travel and 24% expect business travel, compared to 61% and 11% respectively when women are polled.
Families with children under the age of 18 are more likely than others to travel for fun by a margin of 69% to 62%.
The average cost of a leisure trip is $1,665, and $2,231 for a business trip.
Here are destination breakdowns:
38%: beach
27%: downtown
23%: countryside
23%: national/state park
21%: theme park
19%: mountains
17%: leisure/discovery vacation
10%: cruise
9%: international trip
Source: Harris Poll
RBR-TVBR observation: One more survey feeds into the storyline. Another look at the state of the economy, from yet another angle, shows improvement but not the kind of sharp improvement we’d all like t o see. However, moving forward is better than the opposite.
