PORTLAND, ME--(Marketwire - Jun 2, 2011) - Gas prices have been hovering in the minds of local consumers as they plan their summer vacations, but Northern New Englanders are still expected to travel in greater numbers than last summer, according to a new poll by AAA Northern New England.
The AAA Northern New England third annual Summer Travel Poll shows a jump since the Spring Travel Poll in the number of people indicating that high gas prices are affecting their overall budgets -- from 70 percent in March to 77 percent now. When asked about critical gas price points that would cause them to severely reduce their fuel usage, 20 percent said $3.50 a gallon, 25 percent said $4, eight percent said $4.50 and 13 percent said $5 -- very similar to what polled residents said in the spring.
"The good news for travelers is that gas prices are now on the decline," said Steve Hewins, AAA Northern New England vice president for travel. "We expect that will bring more travelers into the last-minute market if they decided against making summer plans in April or May due to gas price uncertainty. Also, many travel providers are offering promotions to encourage last-minute summer travel since space is still available at several popular vacation destinations."
The percentage of local residents who say they'll possibly or definitely take a vacation this summer has increased by three percent from the AAA Northern New England summer 2010 poll. This year, 88 percent say they are considering or will take a summer vacation, compared to 85 percent last year.
Of those who say they will not vacation this summer, 57 percent cited higher gas prices as the main reason.
For those who do plan summer travel, 20 percent say they'll take one trip, 43 percent will take two, 21 percent will take three and 16 percent will take four or more. Last year, 19 percent took one trip, 33 percent took two, 21 percent took three and 27 percent took four or more.
Most local polled summer vacationers (80 percent) plan to take at least one summer trip to another U.S. state, while 47 percent will take at least one trip in their home state. The most popular destination states are Maine (28 percent of travelers), Massachusetts (25 percent of travelers), New York (18 percent of travelers) and New Hampshire (18 percent of travelers). The most popular destination cities are Boston and Cape Cod.
Sixty-four percent of those polled this year say they are cutting back on various discretionary budget expenses so they can afford to take at least one summer vacation. The most-cited budget cutbacks included:
- Dining at restaurants (42 percent)
- Gasoline usage (35 percent)
- Buying new clothes or shoes (34 percent)
- New electronics (21 percent)
- Weekend getaways (19 percent)
More travelers are also using their cell phones to search for discounts they can use on their trip. Fourteen percent said they now use smartphone discount apps such as the AAA Discounts app for their travel, compared to two percent last summer.
Among the 77 percent of Northern New Englanders who said gas prices have impacted their overall budgets, the vast majority of them (86 percent) say they have cut back on unnecessary driving to cope with the higher prices.
Other highlights from the poll:
- Northern New Englanders continue to be frugal with their overall entertainment activities in addition to vacations. Sixty-five percent indicated they are changing their entertainment plans for this summer to save money, and 42 percent said they would stay closer to home this summer.
- Top activities for this year's summer vacations include sightseeing (59 percent), visiting family (55 percent), visiting friends (45 percent), visiting attractions (34 percent), pursuing a hobby or sport (26 percent), shopping (22 percent), and maintaining a family tradition of traveling during the summer (20 percent).
- 64 percent of summer travelers plan to spend a total of $1,500 or less on all their summer trips.
- For 50 percent of travelers, their longest summer trip will last from four to seven days, and for 23 percent, it will last eight to 14 days.
- For their longest trip of the summer, 67 percent will drive to their destination in their personal vehicle while 24 percent will fly.
- 39 percent of travelers will stay in a hotel on their longest summer trip, and 22 percent will stay with family.
The AAA Northern New England 2011 Summer Travel Poll was administered by the AAA Northern New England Marketing & Brand Research Department, taken by 342 AAA Northern New England members between May 2 and May 16 and has a +/- margin of error of 4.9 percent.
Contact Pat Moody (207) 780-6919 for a copy of the complete poll results.
Contact Information:
Contact:
Pat Moody
(207) 780-6919