BIRMINGHAM, AL--(Marketwire - June 2, 2010) - Alabamians will be heading out of state in a big way this summer with reduced cost concerns compared to last year, but they will be taking fewer people along on their trips, according to the second annual summer travel poll conducted by AAA Alabama.
Seventy-eight percent of those polled said they would take two or more trips this summer, a six percent jump from 72 percent in 2009.
On their first trip of the summer, Alabama residents are overwhelmingly likely to travel out of state (78 percent, similar to 76 percent last year), less likely to take cost into consideration as a major factor in planning the trip (63 percent vs. 75 percent last year), and less likely to be traveling with two or more people (36 percent this year vs. 42 percent in 2009), according to the survey.
In all, 92 percent of the AAA Alabama members who participated in the poll said they plan to take at least one overnight trip this summer, down from 94 percent last year. Of those traveling, 75 percent plan to drive to their first summer destinations, similar to the 76 percent who said they would drive last year.
Despite professing less concern about vacation costs, those polled cited similar vacation expenses for their first summer trip of this year compared to last year. Sixty-four percent plan to spend $1,000 or less compared to 63 percent in 2009, while 37 percent plan to spend $1,000 or more compared to 38 percent last year.
"Travelers are taking more vacations than last summer, which is a good sign that Alabamians are optimistic about the economy," said AAA Alabama spokesman Clay Ingram. "But even though cost is cited as less of a concern for vacations than last year, we are still finding that most people are more budget-minded than they were prior to the recession."
The top method cited by survey takers for saving money this summer on travel and other entertainment was searching for specials and discounts (36 percent), followed by staying closer to home (35 percent), choosing less expensive entertainment options (30 percent), spending more time with family and friends (29 percent), and spending more time at home (26 percent).* The top method among those polled for seeking out discounts for vacation trips was looking in local area guides and magazines (69 percent), followed by using coupons (55 percent), and using AAA discount tools such as the AAA.com website, AAA Journey magazine, or the AAA Discounts iPhone app (54 percent).*
"This survey revealed that 73 percent of polled travelers seek out coupons or discounts at least sometimes as a factor in deciding which attractions, restaurants, and/or retailers to visit while on vacation," Ingram said. "Because of this increased consumer interest, we have seen more visits to the discount portion of our website, and the AAA Discounts free iPhone app is one of the most popular 'lifestyle' apps out there, with more than 814,000 downloads nationwide to date."
The top destination for Alabamians' first summer trip this year is Florida (19.7 percent of travelers compared to 15.2 percent in 2009), with four percent of travelers headed to Orlando compared to 3 percent last year.
Other top destinations are Gulf Shores (4.5 percent vs. 8.9 percent last year), Atlanta (4.6 percent vs. 6.9 percent last year) and New Orleans (3.8 percent this year vs. 3.2 percent in 2009).
In choosing and planning their trip, 49 percent of those surveyed relied on recommendations from friends and family, followed by 34 percent who looked at AAA Diamond, star or online ratings for hotels, and 23 percent who researched travel guide books such as AAA TourBooks.
The Internet was cited as the top method to choose which attractions, restaurants and/or retailers to visit while on vacation (78 percent), followed by family/friend recommendations (59 percent), guide books (40 percent) and local area magazines at the destination (35 percent).
For all those polled, whether they planned to take a vacation or not, the most popular entertainment activity cited for spending money this summer was dining out and nightlife (77 percent), followed by going to the movies (53 percent), pursuing a hobby (39 percent), attending live shows (38 percent), visiting attractions (35 percent), visiting museums (34 percent), attending live sports events (26 percent) and doing a family activity like miniature golf or laser tag (23 percent).
The AAA Alabama summer travel survey was conducted online from April 27 to May 3 by the AAA Alabama Marketing Research Department, and was taken by nearly 300 members in the state and a total of 2,300 AAA members around the country. It has a margin of error of +/- 5.6 percent.
*This was the first year this question was asked in the summer travel poll, so there are no comparisons available for 2008 and 2009.
Contact Information:
Contact:
Clay Ingram
(205) 978-7000 ext. 3223