Summer Travel Bounces Back as Americans Plan to Spend $86.4 Billion in 2011

RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Despite concern over high gas prices, improving economic conditions and a pent up demand for travel are moving Americans to spend nearly $16 billion more on summer travel in 2011 than they did in 2010. This is according to a survey released today by global travel assistance company Mondial Assistance USA and its Access America brand of travel insurance. Nearly one half (45%) of Americans say they’re confident (30% very/15% somewhat) that they’ll take a summer vacation this year, up 5 points from last year, and up 10 points in the last two years. In all, Americans plan to spend $86.4 billion on summer vacations in 2011.

Not only are more Americans intending to travel on vacation this summer, but those that are anticipate spending more this year. The average family intends to spend $1,704 this year; up from the $1,567 those who were confident they’d travel last year anticipated spending. This represents an increase of 9% over last year.

With more Americans confident they’ll travel this summer, and with those who intend to travel expecting to spend more than last year, the overall projected spend on vacations this summer is up 22% this year over last year, rising to $86.4 billion.

Men (51%) are significantly more confident than women (40%) to say they’ll get away, as are those in the Northeast (53%) compared to Americans living in the South (47%), West (46%) or Midwest (36%). Perhaps not surprisingly, those whose family earns in excess of $75,000 per year are most likely (62%) to be confident they’ll take a vacation, followed by those who earn between $25K and $75K (44%) or less than $25K per year (28%).

But it’s not all roses. Among those who are confident they’ll take a vacation, a majority (54%) say that high gas prices concern them (including 62% of those with children), making gas prices far more concerning on the whole than other things like bad weather (30%), rising travel costs (28%), the economic uncertainty (24%) or terrorism (16%).

Perhaps as a result of all sorts of uncertainties, nearly two in ten (16%) Americans say that events of the past year, including dramatic weather, terrorism, civil unrest, volcano eruptions, and tsunamis, has made them more likely to purchase travel insurance. This proportion rises to 33% among Hispanic Americans.

He Said, She Said…

When getting ready to leave the house to embark on a trip, 12% of Americans say they often have to turn back because they thought that they’ve forgotten something important like turning off the oven, closing the garage, or something about the dog or kids, etc. In fact, 4% of Americans say they have to turn around every time they leave the house for a trip, representing roughly 1 million American adults who confess that they’re perhaps either really forgetful or obsessive compulsive.

But where things really get interesting is in the blame game. Two in ten (21%) women say that it’s their partner that is usually the one that makes them turn back to the house most often, while one in three (32%) men blame it on their partner. That makes men 50% more likely than women to blame their partner for the last-minute turnaround.

Survey Methodology

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted June 3-7, 2011. For the survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,001 randomly-selected adults residing in the U.S. interviewed by telephone via Ipsos’ U.S. Telephone Express omnibus. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population of adults in the U.S. been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/gender composition reflects that of the actual U.S. population according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The dollar figures were calculated based on a total of 112,611,029 U.S. households.

About Mondial Assistance

Mondial Assistance, part of the Allianz group of companies, is a global leader in specialty insurance and emergency assistance services. In the United States, Mondial Assistance is a brand name of World Access Service Corp., which is best known for its Access America® brand of travel insurance and assistance services. The U.S. operation, one of 29 business units, serves major travel suppliers, health insurers, credit card, and entertainment companies with insurance products, international travel assistance, and concierge services. For more information, please visit www.mondialUSA.com and follow Mondial Assistance on Twitter at twitter.com/Mondial_Assist.