Yesterday, Peter Yesawich, Vice Chairman of MMGY Global, spoke at a gathering of industry professionals to share MMGY’s latest travel research, particularly in terms of affluent travelers. In partnership with Travel Horizons, the study focused not on recent trends, but on how people expect to travel going forward. More than 2,000 American families that go on regular vacations and business trips were asked about why they travel, why they don’t travel and what they want when they travel.

Of course, one cannot look forward without looking back, so Yesawich began with a chart that showed some interesting changes in travel trends over the past six years. Using March 2007 as a base line, the study found sharp drops in travel spending as the recession began to hit—but spikes as suppliers cut their costs and offered deals. More recently, spending has approached March 2007 levels at a gradual but steady pace, indicating a more permanent change rather than temporary surges. The much-debated sequester seems to be helping, Yesawich added, noting that the GDP outlook seems positive for the next few years.

So what is preventing people from traveling? Notable deterrents include the price of gasoline and air tickets, although the survey indicates that these factors are less worrisome now than they were in early 2012. And over the past year, the percentage of surveyed people traveling more than 75 miles from home and staying in a hotel has remained steady at 90 percent, though the numbers were slightly higher in 2010 and 2011 (92 and 91 percent, respectively). Ninety percent took at least one leisure trip (with an average of four trips), and forty percent took at least one business trip (with an average of five trips). For business travel, most attended association meetings. The percentage of travel, Yesawich noted, has not changed, but the number of trips has: Where people once took four vacations per year, they now take three, and business travel has seen a more substantial decrease to the same number of annual trips from seven.

Read the full article at MMGY Global

Derek Klaus
VP, Public Relations
+1 816.608.2816
MMGY Global

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