This
milestone augurs well for the continued growth of the travel industry
during the forthcoming summer travel season.
The
Traveler Sentiment Index™ (TSI), tracked every calendar quarter
since March 2007, is a derivative of six factors that measure
Americans’ attitudes towards travel and serves as a predictor of
travel behavior during the coming six months. While the overall TSI
has been declining since last April, February marked the first time
the TSI surpassed the benchmark score of 100 established in
pre-recession March 2007.
All
six components of the TSI revealed gains in February 2013, with the
overall index increasing 10 points in February 2013 (100.8) compared
to October 2012 (90.4). The perceived “affordability of travel”
powered the score forward, having grown from 102.6 in October 2012 to
114.5 in February 2013. The six TSI factors include interest in
travel, time for travel, personal finances available for travel,
affordability of travel, quality of travel services and safety of
travel.
An
estimated 57 percent of all U.S. adults, or 136 million people, plan
to take at least one leisure trip during the next six months. The
February report revealed a significant improvement in their sentiment
across the board, including:
• FINANCES
NOT A FACTOR: Among the 27 financial factors that influence demand
for leisure travel services, 25 either declined or remained unchanged
from February 2012. Of note, half (51 percent) of all respondents
cited high gasoline prices as the top financial factor influencing
their future travel plans, an eight-point decline from the level
recorded in February 2012 (59 percent). Several other important
financial factors also declined including the price of air travel,
the meltdown of U.S. economy, high level of personal debt, declining
value of the dollar, and the expectation of job loss or making less
money.
• SATISFACTION
SOARING: The travelhorizons™ survey also tracks changes in customer
satisfaction with the services provided by four category suppliers:
airlines, lodging companies, rental car companies and cruise lines.
Satisfaction with rental car companies (116.1), airlines (95.5) and
lodging companies (110.1) all reached record highs according to the
February survey, with the rental car industry enjoying the highest
satisfaction score ever measured since these questions were added to
the survey in April 2011.
•
BOOST
IN BUSINESS TRAVEL: Business travel intentions also displayed a
five-point jump in February, with fully 20 percent of all respondents
intending to take at least one overnight business trip during the
next six months – up from 15 percent in February 2012, and fully
seven points from the 13 percent incidence first recorded in February
2009. This increase may signal the beginning of a robust recovery of
demand for business
travel services,
barring any unforeseen disruption of the continued recovery of the
U.S. economy.
