The power of travel

New research indicates that despite the economic challenges of recent years, there is a revival of the most meaningful driver of American vacations: the emotional connection between travel and quality of life. According to the newly released MMGY Global/Harrison Group 2012 Portrait of American Travellers, a nationally-representative survey of 2,527 U.S. households, leisure travellers are doing less of the things that characterized the economic hardship of recent years and are now adopting more behaviours that confirm the importance of travel in their emerging lifestyles. The in-depth, annual survey reveals that while the average number of overnight leisure trips taken during the past year has remained essentially unchanged versus the previous year, the motivations underlying these getaways are evolving. Trading down, staycations and other cost-conscious travel behaviours that emerged during the Great Recession have waned, and the new findings augur well for a boost in 2013 travel spending thanks to a renewed interest in quality experiences that Americans deem “worth it.” And in this respect, the new MMGY Global/Harrison Group research found that more than nine in 10 travellers place a high value on the emotional power of travel. For more, go to http://www.mmgyglobal.com .