Just Over Half of Adults Plan to Take a Summer Vacation This Year

As we enter the early stages of this year’s summer vacation period, just over half (54%) of U.S. adults have taken or plan to take a summer vacation is year. The older generation, Matures (those aged 62 and older), are least likely to take a vacation, especially when compared to Baby Boomers (those 43 to 61). Four in ten Matures (42%) will not take a vacation this summer versus 34 percent of Baby Boomers. These vacations are not only domestic; one in ten adults will be traveling internationally.

These are some of the results of a Harris Poll of 2,372 U.S. adults conducted online between June 5 and 11, 2007 by Harris Interactive^®.

Among those who are taking vacations this summer, one-third (34%) will be spending more than they did last year while two in five (42%) will be spending about the same and 17 percent will be spending less. Two in five Baby Boomers (38%) plan to spend more money on summer vacations this year, compared to 14 percent who plan to spend less. Baby Boomers outpace all other generations in the relative increase of year-over-year discretionary vacation spending.

When it comes to actual spending, almost half (47%) of those planning on taking a vacation say they will spend over $1,000 this summer while one-quarter (25%) will spend between $501 and $1000. One in five (22%) will spend between $201 and $500 while 6 percent say they will spend under $200 on their vacation this year. Echo Boomers (aged 18 to 30) are spending on the lower end this year as just three in ten of this generation will spend over $1,000. When it comes to big-ticket spending, half of Matures (55%), Baby Boomers (52%) and Gen Xers (those 31 to 42) (50%) report that they will spend over $1,000 on their summer vacations.

"Baby Boomers remain one of the most coveted marketing segments for the travel industry. They rank number one or two in the key categories of taking vacations, spending greater than $1,000 on their vacations, and among relative spending levels compared to last year," according to Jim Quilty, vice president of Harris Interactive’s Travel and Tourism practice.

A majority of those taking a vacation this summer (51%) will be doing something near and dear to them – visiting friends and family. One-third (35%) say they will take a scenic trip while three in ten (30%) will take a beach vacation and two in ten will each do historical sightseeing (22%) or visit a big city (21%).

The younger generation and older generation are more likely to visit friends and family. Well over half of Echo Boomers (57%) and 56 percent of Matures report this is what they are doing this summer. For many Gen Xers, it’s sun and surf as 36 percent of this generation say they are taking a beach vacation this summer.

"Have you taken or are you planning to take a vacation this summer?"

Base: All U.S. adults

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100 percent due to rounding.

"Approximately how much do you plan on spending this summer on your vacations?"

Base: Taken/Plan on Taking a Vacation This Summer

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100 percent due to rounding.

"Thinking of how much you plan on spending this summer on vacations, will you spend…?"

Base: Taken/Plan on Taking a Vacation This Summer

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100 percent due to rounding.

"What type of vacation have you taken or are planning on taking this summer?"

Base: Taken/Plan on Taking a Vacation This Summer

Note: Multiple Responses Allowed

This Harris Poll^® was conducted online within the United States between June 5 and 11, 2007 among 2,372 adults, Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

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Q805, Q810, Q815, Q820