Dream of Luxury Vacation Rentals
May 10, 2007. This week, we've been taking a sneak peek at the National Travel Monitor, an annual survey that gauges major travel trends. The Chicago Tribune's "Travel Insider" reported on the advance news from a recent speech by Peter Yesawich, founder of the study.
Among the five trends studied were dream vacation destinations – the 1,800 people who participated in the survey were asked where they wanted to go in the next two years.
The largest number of respondents, a whopping 68 percent, chose the Hawaiian Islands, and 63 percent of all respondents specifically targeted Honolulu. That's understandable. What could be better than perfect weather, great beaches, epic golf courses and spectacular outdoors recreation?
Speaking of outdoors recreation, the second most popular choice, coming in at a close 67 percent, were the national parks. "Yesawich said travelers yearn to commune with nature," the Tribune reported.
The Florida Keys rounded out the top of the pack with 51 percent. These islands are wonderful, beautiful destinations when considered on their own merits. Like Hawaii, they have great weather, beaches, golf and deep-sea fishing. But, unlike Hawaii, they can be reached by automobile.
That's key (pardon the pun) because the majority of travelers drive to their vacation destination. Tomorrow, we'll look at the National Travel Monitor's findings regarding vacation transportation and check out the predictions for summer gas prices and airfares.
