National Travel Monitor Spots Major Trends
May 8, 2007. For 16 years, the National Travel Monitor has caught the attention of travelers, luxury vacation rental owners, and the entire travel and tourism industry. The Chicago Tribune's "Travel Insider" offered a sneak peek of this year's trends, based on a recent speech by Peter Yesawich, developer of the report. The 2007 survey was based on a sampling of 1,800 travelers in January and February, according to the Tribune.
This week, we'll look at the five trends mentioned in the article. Today, let's talk about what's happening with family vacations.
According to the report, both parents work in 6 out of 10 households. That means that, although family vacations are on the rise, planning them has become increasingly difficult. And whereas singles and couples report being able to travel all throughout the year, families identify summer as their window of opportunity. The time crunch likely explains why "57 percent of parents surveyed said they have no qualms about taking their kids out of school if they can't travel between Memorial Day and Labor Day."
Family travel, by the way, includes grandparents, according to the report. We reported on "Grandtravel" previously in our blog.
We believe this news is important to both families and the businesses that serve them on vacation. First of all, the majority of parents out there believe it is acceptable for their children to miss some school in order for the family to spend some valuable time together. As long as parents communicate with their children's teachers to make up schoolwork, we wholeheartedly support a little hooky every once in a while.
Second, we believe luxury vacation rental owners and tourism-based businesses can increase their marketing edge by making it easier for busy parents to plan vacations. Informative, user-friendly web sites will go a long way to this end. Tomorrow, we'll discuss the whopping number of travelers who plan their trips online.
