Travelers Seek Getaways Despite Slowing Economy
Many Choose to Forego Air Travel for Rest Stops and Toll Booths

Kennebunk, ME¾ The economy may be slowing down, but travelers are gearing up for their summertime retreats. And, in choosing their mode of travel, many may abandon the skyways for the highways. In a recent online study conducted by Davidson-Peterson Associates, warm season travelers indicated that while most will vacation as much as last year (if not more), a significant number are less inclined to travel by air.

The April online survey, which polled 2,221 Americans who travel in the spring and summer, revealed that seventy-nine percent (79%) anticipate vacationing the same or more than they did last year. And, in indicating their mode of transport, more than one third (39%) expect to take fewer leisure trips by plane, whereas only seventeen percent (17%) indicate they will cutback on car trips.

Karen Peterson, managing director of Davidson-Peterson Associates, says, "We found that half of the respondents expect to spend more and three-fourths (75%) will either increase or maintain their overnight paid accommodations. It was also not surprising to see an anticipated increase in the distanced traveled by car, as people intend to cut back on air travel. These results certainly bode well for the tourism industry as a whole at a time when other industries are feeling the crunch."

About This Study

The results of this study were drawn from Intertrak™, a monthly national online omnibus service of Digital Research, Inc./Davidson-Peterson Associates (DRI/DPA). The sample for April’s Intertrak wave consisted of 2,998 completed online responses, made up of male and female adults, 18 years of age and older. The respondents are members of DRI’s Consumer Technology Panel™, an online panel of U.S. households that reflect the Internet population at large.

A random sample of panel members were invited to take the survey and matched to reflect the latest US Bureau of the Census statistics on Internet usage. The survey was in the field from April 11 – 17, 2001. Sample panel members selected by this procedure were subject to an original invitation and one follow-up attempt to complete the survey. Completed surveys were then weighted to ensure accurate and reliable representation of the total U.S. Internet population. DRI/DPA designed the questionnaire used in this study, and conducted the fieldwork, data tabulation and analysis.

About the Research Firms

Founded in 1974, DPA is the travel and tourism research division of Digital Research, Inc. (DRI), a full-service marketing research firm, specializing in online research practices and research for the publishing industry. DPA and DRI are members of the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO), and subscribe to CASRO’s Code of Standards and Ethics for Survey Research. For more information, visit DPA and DRI on the Web at www.DPAonline.com and www.digitalresearch.com.