Despite the current economic and financial climate, 2012 has all the makings of seeing an increase in travel. Consumers have indicated that they will make more leisure and business trips in 2012 compared to 2011.
An annual travel trends survey released by TripAdvisor surveyed nearly 3,000 U.S. travelers and found that 79 percent of those who responded plan to spend at least $3,000 on vacations in 2012, while 21 percent said they plan to spend $10,000 or more.
Sixty-eight percent who took the survey plan to travel outside the U.S. in 2012. The top three international cities travelers plan to visit are Paris, London, and Rome. Of that percent, 52 percent plan to go to a North American destination outside the U.S such as Mexico and Canada.
Forty-four percent of respondents indicated they were planning a beach trip for 2012. Of the 22 percent that took an island trip in 2011, 24 percent said that they were planning to do it again in 2012.
Forty percent of travelers said that they were planning some sort of road trip. Forty-two percent said they were planning a cultural trip (e.g., visiting museums or historic sites). That’s up 4 percent from 2011.
For domestic travelers, thirty-six percent of respondents are planning a visit to an American city. The top three destinations planned were New York, Las Vegas, and San Francisco.
There was an increase in planned cruises. For 2012, twenty-three percent said they were planning one compared to 19 percent in last year’s travel survey.
Hiking trips and trips to lakes saw slight declines, down 1 and 2 percent, respectively.
Eighty-seven of those planning a trip intend to stay in a hotel. That’s down 4 percent from last year. Vacation rentals went up slightly to 36 percent. Travelers planning to visit all-inclusive resorts or bed and breakfasts increased. Meanwhile, respondents planning trips theme park trips declined 2 percent.
