Fall Travel Trends from Travel Leaders – Oil Spill Impact & Top Destinations

Sept. 2, 2010 - PRLog -- Over 80% Indicate the Gulf Coast Oil Spill is Having “No Impact” on Overall Florida Travel for the Remainder of 2010

Fall Travel Trends Revealed by America’s TRAVEL LEADERS  

Minneapolis, MN (September 2, 2010) — In its 8th annual Fall Travel Trends Survey, and its first authoritative survey since the Gulf Coast oil spill, Travel Leaders experts provide actual booking data and comparisons to show that for the vast majority of survey participants, the natural disaster is having no impact on travel plans they’re booking for the remainder of the year. Additionally, the survey found that overall year-over-year bookings are continuing to swing upward with Orlando and Caribbean cruising serving as the most-booked domestic and international destinations, respectively.

“While businesses throughout the Gulf Coast region had been severely impacted all summer by the effects of the devastating oil spill, our survey demonstrates that there is real hope for the entire region in the upcoming months when tourism there perennially begins to rise,” stated Roger E. Block, CTC, President of Travel Leaders Franchise Group.  “The vast majority of our travel experts indicated that there hasn’t been any negative impact from the oil spill on fall travel bookings for Florida, as well as Louisiana.  Also, Orlando continues to stay one step ahead of the previous king in our Top Destinations list. Orlando took the crown from Las Vegas for the first time in January and continues to reign as the number one domestic destination being booked by our Travel Leaders experts.”

Conducted August 3-30, 2010, this survey includes responses from 415 Travel Leaders owners, managers and frontline travel agents throughout the United States. The following information and trends are based on actual bookings for the remainder of 2010, unless otherwise indicated.  

Oil Spill Impact on Travel Plans:
• 80.5% indicated there had been “no impact” to their fall Florida bookings because of the oil spill.
• 90.1% indicated there had been “no impact” to their fall Louisiana bookings because of the oil spill.

More People Traveling in 2010:
When asked to compare overall 2010 travel bookings so far to 2009 at this time last year, 53.7% indicated that their bookings were higher.  That’s a jump of 44.3% compared to the response from a year ago.

They’re higher   53.7%   
They’re about even   23.9%   
They’re lower   22.4%   

Optimism in the Travel Industry:
When asked for their personal outlook on their business for the remainder of 2010, 73.5% indicated they are optimistic, 19.3% are neutral and a mere 7.2% indicated they are pessimistic.  (The figures in 2009 were: 59.5% optimistic, 22.3% neutral and 18.2% pessimistic.)

Top Domestic and International Destinations: (Travel Leaders were asked to name the five top destinations they’re booking for Fall 2010 in each category)

Rank   Domestic Destinations   
1   Orlando, FL   52.8%
2   Las Vegas, NV   50.1%   
3   New York City, NY   33.5%   
4   Honolulu, HI   28.9%   
5   Kahului (Maui), HI   21.7%   
6   Chicago, IL   18.6%   
7   San Francisco, CA   14.7%   
8   Los Angeles, CA   13.5%   
9   Washington, DC   12.5%   
10 (tie)   Cruise – New England   11.8%   
10 (tie)   Fort Lauderdale, FL   11.8%
10 (tie)   Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ   11.8%

Rank   International Destinations   
1   CRUISE- Caribbean   53.7%   
2   Cancun, Mexico   43.9%   
3   Riviera Maya, Mexico   25.8%   
4   CRUISE- Europe (Mediterranean)   24.6%   
5   Rome, Italy   18.1%   
6   London, England   16.6%   
7   Montego Bay, Jamaica   13.3%   
8   Playa del Carmen, Mexico   13.0%   
9   Punta Cana, Dominican Republic   11.6%   
10   Paris, France   11.1%   

Mexico Travel:
When asked, “Year-to-date, how would you compare your leisure travel bookings to Mexico versus this time in 2009?” the response was:
   
They're higher.   38.4%   
They’re about even.   36.8%   
They're lower.   24.8%   

Strength of U.S. Dollar:
When asked, “Has the increased value of the U.S. dollar throughout the first half of the year helped your international bookings?” the response was:

Yes, international bookings have increased.   63.1%
No, it has had no impact on my international bookings.   36.9%

With sales of over $6 billion last year, Travel Leaders Group not only ranks as the top corporate travel management company by Business Travel News, but it is also among the top ten travel companies on the 2010 Travel Weekly Power List and is one of the top five with a retail presence.

When your journey includes us, you travel better.  To find the Travel Leaders location nearest you, go to www.TravelLeaders.com or call 1.888.206.TRIP (8747).

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Travel Leaders is transforming travel with a name that boldly embodies our commitment to our vacation and business travel clients via a progressive approach toward each unique travel experience. As one of America’s top ten-ranked travel companies, Travel Leaders has assisted millions of travelers through our strong roots – the former Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associates, TraveLeaders and Tzell Travel Group joined together in 2008 to form one of the industry’s fastest-growing and robust networks of travel agents. Travel Leaders Franchise Group can trace its beginnings to 1984 as the franchise system “Ask Mr. Foster Travel,” which itself was North America’s first travel agency chain established in 1888.