Travel Trends 2006: Family Travel Is Up And Going Higher Across USA

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By FTFc Staff
Published: 13 June, 2006
Tags: usa

Trends Report - June 2006: FTFc finds family travel is up within the United States, from Americans vacationing domestically and foreigners visiting the U.S. with children in tow.

Here's a snapshot of how the travel business is doing, from FTFc, Family Travel Forum's consulting division. In our June 2006 analysis, we can see that 2005 was a better year overall than 2004, with more travelers moving around and spending more money. Some highlights:

There are more foreign tourists coming to the US.
- There is less international travel by Americans.
- There is more crowding on domestic air routes due to fewer flights and smaller planes.
- Travel costs are increasing due to higher fuel and labor costs; consumers are paying.
- Multi-generational travel is increasing because aging Boomers have better health and finances.

Who's Traveling This Year?

To determine traveler characteristics, FTFc uses the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) benchmark American Travel Survey (1995). A decade ago, 37.9% of Americans' long distance (more than 100 miles one way) person-trips were made by married adults with children under 18, 4.3% were made by single mothers with children under 18 and 1.3% were made by single fathers with children under 18. All together, this meant that 14.6% of all household trips involved children, at that time totaling more than 92 million family trips annually. Seen from a younger vantage point, the 1995 survey revealed that 16% of all long distance travel by Americans was done by children under 18.

Unfortunately, the DOT budget no longer supports extensive surveys of traveler characteristics. However, many other recent surveys indicate that family travel is up overall, especially since 2001, and subtle changes in family traveler characteristics have been tracked by others.

In a recent travel agent poll from American Express Travel, 79% of the travel specialists surveyed agreed that family travel was one of 2006's most significantly increasing travel trends. Findings corroborated what American Express family travel and leisure specialist Maggie Eskicioglu says has been "an unbelievable year for travel about building cultural bridges between people." As the makeup of American families continues to evolve, 31% noted an increase in blended family travel (vacations with divorced/remarried parents and children), and almost the same numbers acknowledged more travel by adults with adult children, by friends traveling together and by mothers with daughters. As family vacations continue to evolve, 62% of American Express agents noted 62% more families are booking outdoor and adventure vacations. Top adventure destinations this year include Turkey, where Ms. Eskicioglu has clients with three teens who are sightseeing in remote coastal areas by kayak, and Costa Rica, long a popular eco-destination for families.

International Travel All Ages

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, total international travel and tourism "exports" (receipts from visitors to the US) reached $104.8 billion in 2005. This represents a 12% increase in travel exports over 2004, twice the growth rate of travel "imports" (payments made by Americans traveling abroad) during the same time period.

In 2005, when perception of America as a destination seemed to be at an all-time low, international visitation increased 7% over 2004 to 49.9 million visitors. The top three ports of entry for foreign visitors, New York JFK, Miami and Los Angeles, accounted for 37% of all overseas arrivals. As in past years, the arrival ports coincided with some of the most popular U.S. destinations for foreign visitors. However, the second consecutive year of growth was substantially less than the 12% posted in 2004, in part due to the imposition of strict visa entry procedures.

Americans are still interested in "imports" or travel abroad. In noting that Americans took 60 million foreign trips last year, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Global Travel and Tourism Summit in April, "The knowledge and experience that citizens gain through their private travels is vital for the cause of diplomacy and international understanding in the 21st century."

Continued on next page.

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