BELLEVUE, Wash., Expedia.com(R) (NASDAQ:EXPE) , the world's leading online travel provider, today introduced the latest issue of its quarterly report, Expedia Travel Trendwatch(TM). In it, Expedia found that travelers are taking the tough summer season in stride as their desire for relaxing and restorative vacations outweighs the potential delays or problems that can occur during peak travel season. In fact, a July Expedia.com poll (1) found 68 percent of U.S. adults who have taken or plan to take a summer vacation this year will not modify their vacation plans because of negative news around air travel hassles and rising prices. Additionally, an Expedia.de poll of hoteliers across Europe found Americans to be overall good tourists exhibiting such traits as generosity and willingness to try local cuisine. On the flip side, we received poor marks for our fashion sense, hotel room cleanliness and being very noisy. To view the complete report, please visit www.expediatraveltrendwatch.com/.
"It's encouraging to see that despite the tough travel environment, vacationers are still hitting the roads and skies this summer," said Chris McGinnis, editor, Expedia Travel Trendwatch. "The tradition of summer vacation remains ingrained in the American psyche and travelers are rolling with the punches this year. They are finding some surprises like lower airfares, warm welcomes overseas and new tools like user-generated content sites to help make better travel decisions."
Key travel trends and data as reported in the current issue of the Expedia Travel Trendwatch(TM) include:
1) Summer travel update; air, hotel, cruise and car rentals
- Airfares to some major markets have gone down year-over-year and tighter domestic growth could mean fewer discounts in the near term, but capacity growth on international routes bodes well for shoulder-season or off-peak discounting this fall or winter.
- Vacationers are grappling with high hotel rates in most markets however; savvy shoppers are relying on user generated content on sites such as TripAdvisor.com to help make wise accommodation choices. Similarly, Expedia.com recently introduced the Insider's Select list of the world's best hotels as rated by Expedia.com travelers and the organization's own destination experts.
- Airline stress is triggering many cruise-goers to arrive in port a day early to ensure they don't hit trouble and miss their scheduled departure and more cruise lines are offering Caribbean itineraries that start and end in the middle of the week to help avoid weekend bottlenecks at airports and in port cities.
- Car rental rates remain flat to slightly up year-over-year compared to last summer according to Expedia.com data and higher gas prices are not affecting the choice of car size.
2) Americans are perceived abroad more favorably than they imagined ... except for their fashion sense.
- According to a July Expedia.com poll(2), nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of U.S. adults think that American tourists traveling abroad are perceived more negatively than they were five years ago. The same poll found Americans believe that Europeans perceive them as spoiled, self-centered and loud when traveling abroad. However ...
- A separate poll of European hotel managers conducted by Expedia.de ranked Americans as second only to the Japanese in its study to find the world's "best tourists." Hotel managers praised Americans as being great tippers, willing to try local cuisine, will to speak the language and generous travelers overall.
- The same survey ranked Americans at the bottom in terms of our fashion sense finding shell suits (ie. sweat suits) and white socks with sandals to be inappropriate fashion choices. We are also considered loud, but slightly less so than the Italians.
About Expedia Travel Trendwatch(TM) | Expedia Travel Trendwatch(TM) is a quarterly report on consumer travel trends, plus insight and tips from Expedia.com, the world's leading online travel service, and Chris McGinnis, a 20-year travel industry veteran who is the editor of the report. McGinnis' travel industry insight and expertise, coupled with unparalleled travel intelligence from Expedia.com(R), can be found throughout each report, providing a treasure trove of data, trends, and tips designed to help empower and inform travelers.
About Expedia.com | Expedia.com(R) is the world's leading online travel provider, helping millions of travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia.com (http://www.expedia.com/) aims to provide personalized service, the latest technology and the widest selection of vacation packages, flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises and in-destination activities, attractions, and services. With the Expedia(R) Best Price Guarantee, Expedia.com promises to offer to its customers the best rates available online for all types of travel, making it the most comprehensive customer guarantee in online travel. Expedia.com is an operating company of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) .
Expedia, Expedia.com, the airplane log and, Expedia Travel Trendwatch are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. CST # 2029030-40
About the Expedia.com Consumer Survey | This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Expedia.com between July 10th and July 12th , 2007 among 2,273 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for region, age within gender, education, household income and race/ethnicity were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
With a pure probability sample of 2,273 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results would have a sampling error of 3 percentage points. Sampling error for data based on sub-samples may be higher and would vary. However, that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About Harris Interactive | Harris Interactive is the 13th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiaries Novatris in France and MediaTransfer AG in Germany, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at
www.harrisinteractive.com/.
- (1) Harris Interactive(r) fielded the online survey on behalf of Expedia.com between July 10th and July 12th, 2007, among a nationwide sample of 2,273 U.S. adults 18 years of age or older. Sampling error of the overall results is plus or minus 3 percentage points. Sampling error for results based on sub-samples may be higher and would vary. This online survey is on based on a probability sample.
- (2) Expedia.com survey conducted by Harris Interactive in July 2007.
