Years after the recession hit in 2008, leisure travel seems to have recovered beyond just the wealthiest Americans. A study by PhoCusWright reported a seven percent growth in the number of American vacation travelers in 2013.
The study revealed baby boomers resumed prerecession travel habits, while more young adults also chose to spend money on travel.
“The boomer generation made a huge comeback,” said Marcello Gasdia, PhoCusWright’s senior analyst for consumer research. “This group had the most to lose out from the recession, and close to have of this age group was skipping out on vacations for the entire year.”
The biggest percentage increases came from millennials. Young adults aged 25 to 34 years old increased their travel last year by 11 percent, while those in the 45-to-64 range boosted their travel by nine percent.
The study polled 4,100 U.S. adults in early March to reveal that 65 percent of all U.S. adults traveled for leisure in 2013.
Other findings showed that much of the additional travel spending came from travelers booking private homes and apartments, as well as an increase in travelers gravitating towards metasearch engines over online travel agencies and suppliers’ websites.
Airlines for America, a trade organization, recently released reports that air travel this summer will rise 1.5 percent from last year to 2.3 million passengers a day, the highest number in six years.
For more information, visit www.phocuswright.com or read the Travel Weekly article.
