No bailouts for vacations

Economic concerns are causing 40% of Americans to be less likely to vacation this summer, according to a The Harris Poll.

Rochester, N.Y.-based Harris Interactive polled 2,401 U.S. adults between April 13 and April 21 for the survey on summer vacation plans.

“The faltering economy does have many Americans, as well as their employers, rethinking and re-budgeting – but not necessarily eradicating – their summer travel plans,” Harris noted in its press release.

The poll found that 35% of Americans are not planning to take leisure trips and 77% say they don’t plan on taking business trips in the next four months.

However, 65% of those surveyed are planning a vacation this summer, with 17% of those saying they will make more than three summer vacation trips.

Other survey results include:
• Nearly three in ten (29%) adults plan on decreasing the number of leisure trips they make by car.
• One-third (33%) say they will take fewer plane trips for leisure.
• Another third (34%) will cut the number of weekend trips they take.
• Slightly more than one-third (35%) will reduce the duration of their vacations.
• Nearly half (46%) plan to reduce the amount of money they spend on vacation.
• Those who are planning a trip this summer will spend an average of $1,629 on their travel this summer.
• Nearly two in five (39%) are also hoping to reduce travel costs by staying with family and friends instead of at a hotel, by cooking their own meals instead of dining out or by driving instead of flying.
• More than one in five adults (22%) say their employer has reduced or eliminated all non-essential travel and 15% work for companies which are encouraging the use of technology (e.g. teleconferencing, video conferencing) to reduce or eliminate travel.

“While the economy is clearly changing the way Americans vacation, they are not willing to postpone their summer vacation plans altogether. This is great news for those in the travel industry,” Harris noted in the survey statement.