Ypartnership’s 2010 Portrait Of American Travelers offers a peek into the mind of the new post-recession American Leisure Traveler. The report also shows that even though the recession is officially over, leisure travelers have picked up, and continue to retain, a new resourcefulness.

Consumer habits - Leisure travel

For starters, the report says that the U.S. leisure travel market has stabilized, and should expect an increase in demand in the coming year.

The average American leisure traveler took an average of four trips during the past year and spent more than $3,500 on travel services.

But this demand comes with a value caveat – The newly resourceful leisure traveler has also picked up frugal shopping and travel techniques that allow them to fulfill the urge to travel, but on a tight budget. 

81 percent say they are now “looking closely at every spending category to see where they can save,” and 70 percent are “buying fewer big ticket items now than one a year ago.”

One-third of leisure travelers are now waiting for items to go on sale, and the same number are cutting back on exclusive brands.

The recession has also created an obsessive fear of overpaying. Consumers visit 20 websites before making a travel purchase, according to Google. They go through a large number of reviews and ask for price and value feedback on social media networks. A survey by NJ based Black & Wright showed that fear of overpaying tops even earthquakes, hurricanes and the economy as the prime reason for putting off travel planning.

The Ypartnership report shows that this obsession with not overpaying has affected how and where leisure travelers shop. Eight out of ten leisure travelers now say that “the ability to check the lowest fares/rates” (83 percent) and the “lowest price/rate guarantee” (82 percent) are the two most important attributes in a website that promotes travel services.

Read more:- 2010 Consumer Trends: Behold the New American Traveler

A Ypartnership/Harrison Group survey of US travelers with household incomes in excess of $50,000 has interesting consumer trends for 2010 and beyond, related to leisure travel, green travel, and the demographic breakup of traditional travel agent users.

2010 Consumer Trends

Highlights from the survey, published in the July 26 issue of Travel Weekly:-

- Leisure travelers are divided into four basic groups, based mostly on age and marital status.
- Travel agent usage (or lack thereof) differs based on ethnicity, age , sex and income.
- Huge disconnect between passion and practice for green travel.
- Celebration trips a rising trend.

The report lumps leisure travelers into four broad groups. 28% are Sensationals, as in younger, single or couples with a taste for action and clubs. The second biggest group (Extraordinaires – 26%) are the elders - wealthy and near or beyond retirement. This group is interested in European destinations, museums, theater and prefer boutique hotels and resorts.

The third biggest group (Familias – 23%) is made up of mostly dual-income families with children who prefer packaged trips, theme parks and beach vacations. The last group (Touristers – also 23%) are slightly older and married, and are high-end travelers who spend a lot and expect quality.

Echo-boomers (age 18 to 31) represent only 14% of all leisure travelers but make up 20% of those who use traditional travel agents. Only 39% of Boomers use traditional travel agents, even though they’re the biggest block (45%) of leisure travelers.

The section on green travel shows a startling disconnect between passion for the environment and willingness to practice green travel. While 81% claim to be environmentally conscious, only 9% have based their supplier choice on the environmental impact (carbon footprint) of their trip. 48% say they would give preference to an environmentally responsible supplier, but only 16% are willing to pay more for it.

Celebration vacations are a rising trend. 65% said they had taken celebration trips in the past 12 months. 45% of these trips were for milestone birthdays, 37% for anniversaries and 35% for weddings. According to Abercrombie & Kent, there was a 30% jump in clients traveling to celebrate a special event during the first six months of 2010, as compared to 2009.

Related Links:-
2010 Portrait of American Travelers – Ypartnership publications
2010 Consumer Trends: Behold the New American Traveler – Travel Weekly

The Ypartnership/Yankelovich 2009 National Travel Monitor shows the West winning the battle for domestic travel dollars, with the South tagging along just behind.

Visit California

When asked about their interest in visiting specific regions across the country during the next two years, more than seven in ten (72%) leisure travelers said they’d like to visit the western region of the United States, followed by the South with 62 percent (62%), the Northeast with 33 percent (33%) and the Midwest with 21 percent (21%).

In the battle of the states, Florida wins the race as the most sought tourist destination with 34% mentioning the Sunshine State as the destination they would like to visit most in the next 2 years.

Florida was followed by California with 30%, and then Arizona and Hawaii, both tied at 16% each. Listed below are the top 10 states.

Florida – 34%
California – 30%
Arizona – 16%
Hawaii – 16%
New York – 15%
Washington (state) - 13%
Alaska – 12%
Colorado – 12%
Texas – 12%
Nevada – 11%

And when it comes to specific destinations, the National Parks top the charts, with 66% of leisure travelers opting for the National Parks as their dream destination, followed by the Hawaiian Neighbour Islands (Maui, Kauai, etc) at 63%, Honolulu at 59%, Florida Keys at 45% and Orlando with 40%.

The bottom 5 of the top 10 destinations were rounded up by San Diego (39%), San Francisco (38%), Las Vegas (36%), New York City (36%) and Lake Tahoe (34%).

In a press statement, Peter C. Yesawich, chairman and CEO of Ypartnership, said that “Given that a lower proportion of U.S. travelers are planning to take an international trip during the next two years, the results of this year’s MONITOR underscore the high degree of interest in travel within the United States. And the data suggest there is a wonderful opportunity for preferred destinations to capitalize on this trend.”

For more information, visit www.ypartnership.com/.