Vacations and Travel - Do We Travel For Business Or Pleasure?

We're often seen as a country constantly on the move, hitting the open road or taking to the skies. Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) has analyzed the types of trips we have been taking, and its data for the last two decades are shown above.

As expected, the majority of our trips are for pleasure, and the number has been increasing (1999 figures were the most recent available; the final effect of September 11 remains to be seen). The bulk of our spending in the $584 billion industry takes place in five states: California, Florida, New York, Texas and Illinois. Most of our travel is done on the highways we love so much: 76% of our trips were taken by car, truck, or RV. Only 18% were taken by plane.

Spending on vacations jumped in the early 1990s, perhaps because of the growing affluence of the time; people could, quite simply, afford to take a trip. Spending fell from 1993 to 1994, fallout perhaps from the brief recession. The number of business excursions continues to grow too, at the same rate as those for pleasure: both grew 4% over the last five years. Some sources expect the number of business trips to fall as companies re-think their spending during this slowing economy. Some companies have used videoconferencing and similar technologies to address their needs. Some travel just has been postponed.

We are taking a moderate number of more trips — but we're taking different kinds of trips. The family vacation appears to be making a comeback: the number of adults traveling with kids grew 10%; interestingly, there was a 10% increase in the number of adults taking children on business trips as well! Perhaps this speaks to some companies being family friendly and including children in travel arrangements. It could also be the effort of parents to juggle work and home responsibilities.

Another point to make: it isn't just mom and dad organizing these trips. Roughly 15% of singles have been on a vacation with their nephews and nieces. Twenty-one percent of adults traveled with a grandchild in 2000, up from just 13% in 1999, according to the TIA data for Meredith Corp. Indeed, the travel industry has adopted the term "grandtravel" to address this blossoming market.

Seniors aren't the only segment of the population the travel industry has had its eye on. More attention is being paid to the single traveler. There are now accommodations being made for dogs and cats: more than 29 million people traveled with a pet during the last three years. Tours and travel packages are aimed at gay and lesbian vacationers.

We like our getaways — and we are taking more of them. But they are for shorter periods of time: the big two-week vacation seems to be history. Do we take enough time? What price are we paying for not doing so?

Sources: "More Family Vacations Include Kids"; "Mature Travelers Comprise Nearly One-Third Of All U.S. Traveler"; "Traveling Singles Represent 15.9 Million U.S. Household"; "Fluffy and Fido Prove to be Popular Travel Companions"; "TIA Releases Travel Forecast Through 2003." Retrieved January 9, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.tia.org; "The New Family Vacation," American Demographics, August 1, 2001, p. 42.