Americans still cautious about travel plans

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Travel Association and MMGY Global have released a new report that indicates Americans remain tentative about their leisure travel plans.

The share of U.S. adults taking a leisure trip edged up to 69 percent in February compared to 68 percent a year earlier. After two years of consecutive declines, this latest news is a positive sign that leisure travel is on the mend. 

A little more than half (56 percent) of U.S. adults plan on taking a leisure trip in the next six months. This is lower than the 59 percent who answered similarly in February 2011, but the same as February 2010.

“Americans are continuing to travel but intentions remain somewhat restrained compared to pre-recessionary levels, which is not surprising given the uneven nature of the modest economic recovery to-date,” said David Huether, senior vice president of research for the U.S. Travel Association.

“We are carefully monitoring the ongoing surge in gas prices, which could erode travel perceptions about the affordability of travel as we edge closer to summer.”

The latest quarterly “travelhorizons” report was based on a survey of 2,200 U.S. adults taken in February.

www.ustravel.org