Travel-Ticker Survey Predicts More Travel in 2012

The results for the 2012 Travel-Ticker Traveler Intentions survey, which tracks the opinions of over 2,300 U.S. consumers about travel for 2012, was released.

The survey showed that 44 percent of respondents plan on traveling more in 2012 than in 2011, a 5 percent increase from last year. This number could fluctuate because 96 percent said they will travel in 2012 if they can find the right deals.

Deals were flagged as a large motivator for travel; 71 percent said extras such as dining credits, complimentary upgrades, excursions and activities sway decisions for which hotel to book. When booking a vacation, 43 percent of respondents stated that they look for deals and discounts to help drive their decision.Only 30 percent of respondents stated they have a specific destination in mind when planning a vacation, down significantly from last year's 53 percent.  The majority of travelers look for deals to sway their destination choice.

The majority of respondents, 61 percent, want to travel to a beach getaway, 34 percent want to book an urban vacation and 28 percent want an outdoor adventure.  Of the 86 percent of respondents that intend to take the same or more leisure vacations in 2012, 33 percent said increased travel was because of more free time in 2012, 24 said they were in a better economic situation and 22 percent felt confident that better deals will be available.

More than half, 67 percent, described themselves as flexible travelers. In this survey, flexible travelers are defined as being fairly organized and have good idea of what kind of vacation they want to take, however do not have every hour of the vacation planned. Flexible travelers like to allow time to explore their surroundings.

The survey was conducted November 14-22, online among Travel-Ticker users.

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