mapping the mind and motivations of leisure travelers

the Ypartnership/Yankelovich inc.

2008 national leisure travel monitorsM

I am pleased to announce the Ypartnership/Yankelovich, Inc. 2008 National Leisure Travel MONITOR℠ will be available as of May 15, 2008. This widely acclaimed report is a nationally repre-sentative survey of the travel habits, preferences and intentions of American leisure travelers that is now in its 17th year. It is the preferred source of market intelligence for marketers seeking the latest information on emerging lifestyles and travel trends to guide the development of future marketing, advertising and product-development strategies. And this year’s sample has been increased to approximately 2,100 respondents in order to provide additional opportunities for custom data analyses.

The cost of the report is just $2,750. You may place your order by faxing your request on company letterhead to 407.875.8271 or by visiting the Publications section of ypartnership.com.

We also invite you to consider scheduling a personal presentation of the results of the National Leisure Travel MONITOR℠ by one of our Research and Brand Strategy professionals for an additional $3,500 (with the purchase of a copy of the report). This insightful presentation is a stimulating way to explore the implications of the results of the survey for your specific business or marketing application.

Thank you in advance for your interest in the National Leisure

Travel MONITOR℠. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly should you have any questions about this truly unique source of market intelligence.

Sincerely, Greg Dunn, Ph.D. VP/Director of insights

yPartnershiP, llc

the Ypartnership/Yankelovich inc.

2008 national leisure travel monitorsM

Attitudes towArd trAvel

MediA HAbits

eMerging issues

trip CHArACteristiCs

Understanding the motivations of leisure travelers is a complex task as there are many variables that influence their travel behavior.

What motivates consumers to choose one airline over another? One hotel or resort over another? Or one vacation destina-tion over another? How has the Internet influenced the manner in which consumers now plan, purchase and share information on their travel experiences? Who's inter-ested in taking a cruise? Or purchasing a timeshare? How has the recent turmoil in the financial markets affected the leisure travel plans of Americans?

The National Leisure Travel MONITOR℠ provides answers to these and literally hundreds of other questions to which travel service and lifestyle marketers need timely answers in order to sharpen the focus of their communications and enhance the performance of their marketing strategies.

The main topics investigated are:

1 attituDes towarD traVel

2 triP characteristics

3 Preferences

4 emerging issues

5 meDia habits

6 DemograPhy

going beneath the surface

preferenCes

MediA HAbits

deMogrApHy

attitudes toward both traditional and emerging information sourcesThe survey includes an assessment of •the degree of confidence consumers place in various information sources when planning and evaluating travel alternatives including friends, travel agents, advertising, brochures, pub-licity, company or destination Web sites, travel guidebooks, online travel agencies and reviews appearing on online advisory sites and on blogs; the incidence of usage of travel agents to arrange leisure travel; travel agent influence on destination, hotel/resort, airline, car rental, vacation package and cruise line supplier selection.

what People are looking for in a leisure travel experienceMeasurement of the desirability of 44 •different attributes of vacations such as being able to gamble, all-inclusive pricing, going to theme parks, vis-iting architectural or historical sites or museums, attending performing arts, hiking and outdoor adventure, sporting activities such as golf, tennis, snorkeling or scuba diving, snow skiing/snowboarding, white-water rafting, fishing, hunting, or mountain biking, attending amateur or profes-sional sporting events, recreational boating, going to an amenity spa, visiting a destination spa, a historic

hotel, a hotel with a formal and elegant décor, a hotel with a distinctive theme, a hotel with special rates for kids, resorts that offer nude recreation experiences and interest in a luggage transfer service from home or office.

attitudes toward and usage of online information sourcesUse of the Internet or an online service •to obtain information or make res-ervations; use of online travel agen-cies such as Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Priceline; visitation of hotel Web sites; desirability of various features in a Web site such as live counselors, e-mail notification of discounts, destination maps, photos of the area and hotel/resort facilities and rooms, virtual video tours of the area and hotel/resort facilities and rooms, ability to download brochures and more. Familiarity with and usage of the new .travel Internet domain/address.

attitudes toward travel

1

Attitudes towArd trAvel

traditional and emerging information sources

internet usage

leisure travel attribute Desirability

travel agent usage

trip characteristics

2

Party composition

leisure trip type

trip CHArACteristiCs

types of leisure tripsMeasured incidence of the types of •leisure trips taken during the last 12 months including beach/lake vacations, snow skiing/boarding vacations, fishing vacations, city vacations, cruise and theme park vacations, gambling vacations, golf vacations, adventure/outfitter trips, spa vacations, hunting trips, family reunions, religious retreats

and volunteer vacations to support a humanitarian cause.

leisure trip Party compositionIncidence of leisure trips taken by •individual travelers, adults traveling with children and grandchildren, adults traveling with their spouse or another adult and willingness to take children out of school to take a leisure trip.

accommodations Patterns/PreferencesFactors influencing hotel/resort selec-•tion; preference for chain versus inde-pendent lodging; economy, moder-ately priced and luxury hotels/motels; traditional versus all-suite hotels.

frequent-flyer and guest ProgramsIncidence of participation in frequent-•flyer and frequent-stay programs; redemption of airline miles/hotel frequent-stay points.

where People want to goInterest in visiting specific countries, •states and more than 25 different resort areas during the next two years.

Preferred hotel and airline brands. •

alternative accommodations Patterns/PreferencesFamiliarity with the concepts of •timesharing and vacation ownership; whole, fixed-week, floating-week and fractional ownership; interest in pur-chasing timeshare; interest in taking a 2– or 3–day mini-vacation to attend a timeshare sales presentation.

preferences3

frequent-flyer and guest Programs

accommodations Patterns/Preferences

where People want to go

alternative accommodations Patterns/Preferences

preferenCes

emerging issues

4

green travel Perception of leisure travelers who •consider themselves to be environ-mentally conscious; activities that demonstrate environmentally con-scious behavior, car pooling, investing in companies that are developing alternative energy sources, partici-pating in carbon-offsetting programs; likelihood of selecting travel suppliers with environmentally friendly practices and willingness to pay higher fares and rates to use such suppliers.

social networkingVisitation and usage of social net-•working sites to share and/or obtain travel information; usage of blogs to seek/review information about a desti-nation or travel service supplier.

Vacation timeNumber of vacation days entitled •to and not taken last year; number of days it takes to unwind on vacation.

Passport issuesIncidence of leisure travelers with a •valid passport and/or plans to apply for or revalidate one; incidence of trav-elers who think they need a passport to re-enter the U.S. when traveling by air, in a personal or rented automobile, truck, SUV or RV or on a cruise ship.

green travel

Passport issues

social networking

Vacation time

eMerging issues

media habits5

newspapers and magazinesFrequency of reading/looking through •newspapers; incidence of reading newspapers online; incidence of refer-ring to Sunday travel sections when making vacation plans; incidence of magazine subscriptions.

television and radio Hours typically spent watching •television during the weekdays and on weekends; hours typically spent listening to the radio during the weekdays and on weekends; preferred radio formats; ways used to control viewing commercials on television; incidence of viewing specific cable television channels; incidence of sub-scribing to a satellite radio service.

television and radio

newspapers and magazines

MediA HAbits

Age•

Marital Status•

Annual Household Income•

Household Composition•

Educational Achievement•

Gender•

Ethnicity•

demographY6

deMogrApHy

age

annual household income

gender

ethnicity

Custom analyses of specific variables measured in the National Leisure Travel MONITOR℠ are also available for marketers who would like to learn more about a specific industry, supplier or market trend. These analyses consist of an in-depth exploration of a specific target market (for example, consumers with an annual household income greater than $100,000 who travel as families and are inter-ested in visiting the Caribbean) including all tabular data and the results of relevant statistical testing. The analysis profiles the targeted market in the same manner as the master survey, thereby enabling comparisons with the general population of leisure travelers.

If you are interested in scheduling a custom analysis of the data base, please contact us.

Call: greg Dunn VP/Director of Insights research@ypartnership.com

ypartnership, llc 423 South Keller Road, Suite 100 Orlando, Florida 32810 t 407 875 1111 f 407 875 1115 ypartnership.com

the Ypartnership/Yankelovich inc.

2008 national leisure travel monitorsM

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