Annual Maritz Poll Projects Steep Decline in Travel this Holiday Season

Posted: 12/02/2011

ST. LOUIS (Nov. 23, 2011) - Will this year's holiday travel numbers indicate signs of a double dip recession? A new Maritz® Poll released today projects a significant decline in holiday travel compared to last year, with just 21 percent of Americans planning to travel this holiday season, compared to 28 percent in 2010. These numbers indicate the sharpest decline in the Maritz® Poll's seven-year history, with a record low 11 percent planning to travel for Thanksgiving and only 16 percent planning to travel for the winter holidays. This decline amounts to approximately eight million fewer households traveling this year compared to last year, with a projected $8.96 billion loss to the travel industry.

"This year's poll findings indicate that the pressures of continued financial concerns are causing people to re-evaluate travel plans," says Rick Garlick, senior director of consulting and strategic implementation for Maritz Research's Hospitality Research Group.

Similar to the 2009 poll results, 31 percent of those not traveling indicated that finances played a role in the decision to stay home, with 20 percent citing finances as a ‘major reason' for not traveling. Additionally, 31 percent said a member of their household had either lost a job in the past year (13 percent) or went through an extensive period of unemployment within the past three years (18 percent).

The only positive economic indicator is that, unlike the year 2009, when the economic downturn caused both travel incidence and financial spend to decline, this year those traveling intend to spend a nearly identical amount to what travelers spent last year.

"Traditionally, holiday travel is one of the most resilient American customs with people undeterred in their desire to get home for the holidays," added Garlick. "However, with a jarring 31 percent of respondents citing recent or extended unemployment within their households, perhaps holiday travel is more of a luxury than a ‘must-do' for many Americans this year."

Additionally, while gas prices remain high across the U.S., the airline industry's challenges including higher fares, fewer flights, and the increased hassle of airport security show that far more Americans are looking to the "road trip" for holiday travel.

"We can understand why the airline industry has had to recently ‘right-size' its business," said Garlick. "Still, there will be far fewer travelers crowding the airports this holiday season than we've seen in the past. For most people, air travel is not the option it used to be, from both a financial and customer experience perspective."

This year, only 16 percent of Thanksgiving travelers are flying, a three percent decline from last year's 19 percent. For Thanksgiving, 82 percent are driving and as the weather worsens for the winter holidays, the proportion of those driving narrows to 63 percent compared to 33 percent flying. This represents a much larger gap than indicated in previous years, such as 2005 when the proportion of those driving was 53 percent compared to 44 percent flying.

For additional commentary on what's ahead for holiday travel, Garlick is available for media interviews. Call Maria Brewer at 212-754-6500 to schedule an interview.

About Maritz® Poll
Maritz® Poll is a national consumer opinion survey conducted periodically by Maritz Research. Maritz conducted a national telephone poll of 1012 participants from Oct. 17 to Oct. 23 to learn about Americans' travel plans for the upcoming holiday season, which includes both Thanksgiving and the winter holidays, such as Christmas, Hanukah, and New Year's. Some questions were also included that asked about recent hotel experiences and perceptions. The data was collected through random digit dial methodology and later weighted to U.S. census data to better reflect the U.S. population. The poll had a maximum margin of sampling error of +/- 3%.

About Maritz Research
As one of the world's largest marketing research firms, Maritz Research, a unit of Maritz, helps many of today's most successful companies improve performance through a deep understanding of their customers, employees and channel partners. Founded in 1973, it offers a range of strategic and tactical solutions concentrating primarily in the automotive, financial services, hospitality, technology, telecommunications, and retail industries. The company has achieved ISO 20252 registration, the international symbol of quality. It is a member of CASRO, ESOMAR, MRA, and is the official sponsor of the American Marketing Association.

For more information, visit www.MaritzResearch.com or contact us at 1-877-4MARITZ.