Americans Catch Spring Travel Fever | TIA Reports
Washington, DC -- According to the Travel Industry Association of America's (TIA) Spring 2005 Travel Forecast, Americans plan on taking nearly 281 million person-trips during March, April and May. This represents an increase of 1.2 percent over spring 2004. Recent increases in both hotel and airline travel support TIA's forecast for strong spring travel volume.
"Americans are upbeat, a prelude to a busy spring travel season. Their travel intentions are healthy, they feel good about the economy, and they feel positive about their own finances. These key factors point to a record spring travel season," said Dr. Suzanne Cook, TIA Senior Vice President of Research.
On the leisure front, Americans are expected to take nearly 223 million leisure person-trips in spring 2004, up 1 percent from last spring. While this growth is moderate, it's nearly 7 percent higher than spring 2003 and nearly 10 percent higher than spring of 2000.
Business and convention travel volume continues to recover, increasing 2 percent in spring 2005. Americans plan on taking 47.1 million business/convention trips this spring, up from 46.1 million last spring. While this brings the volume in line with spring of 2000, it's still below the 48.1 million business/convention trips taken in spring of 2001.