These travelers are also expected to open their pocketbooks wider when away from home, as the survey revealed an anticipated four percent increase in spending on leisure travel services for the period of May – October 2014 (22 percent) compared to the same time frame in 2013 (18 percent).
Financial Factors Influencing Leisure Travel
Of the many financial factors that have the potential to negatively influence demand for leisure travel, all of the 14 measured in the survey declined when compared to the same period in 2013. Possible job loss and the cost of air travel emerged as the primary obstacles, although both have shown a double digit decline in impact since 2013.
Traveler Sentiment
As the peak summer travel season begins, the overall Traveler Sentiment Index (TSI) continues to climb, rising eight points from February 2014 to 114, its highest level since the Index was first published prior to the onset of the Great Recession in March of 2007. The TSI, tracked every calendar quarter since that time, is a derivative of six factors that measure Americans’ attitudes toward travel and serves as a predictor of travel behavior during the coming six months.
The rise in the May TSI resulted from an increase in all six variables from which the Index is derived: interest in travel, time for travel, personal finances available for travel, affordability of travel, quality of service, and safety of travel. As in February 2014, the largest increases were observed in the perceived “affordability of travel” (up 11 points since February 2014) and “personal finances available for travel” (up 15 points during the same period), suggesting that U.S. travelers are feeling much more confident about their overall financial condition.
Business Travel Intentions
Business travel intentions also continue to rise with three in 10 U.S. adults (30 percent) planning at least one trip for business during the next six months – up a statistically significant seven points from the same period in 2013, and the highest percentage recorded since this metric was first reported in travelhorizons in February 2009. While more travelers plan to hit the road for business, however, they are also planning to take fewer trips during the period of May – October 2014 (average of 3.7 trips) compared to 2013 (average of 4.2 trips).
