More U.S. Travelers Gearing Up for Fall Trips

With Labor Day just around the corner, it?s time to start thinking about fall travel, especially as it?s one of the most economical ?shoulder season? times of the year to travel. And according to TripAdvisor?s latest fall and Labor Day survey, released today, the number of U.S. travelers planning to take a trip this fall jumped to 86 percent, representing a 12 percent increase over last year?s 74 percent response.

Of the 1,600 respondents with fall travel plans, 56 percent are planning weekend getaways, while 35 percent will vacation for one week. More than two-thirds said that their travel plans for autumn have not been impacted by recent economic news, while 37 percent plan to spend more than they did last year on fall leisure trips and 46 percent intend to spend the same as in 2010.

For Labor Day, 28 percent have travel plans for the long holiday weekend, equal to last year?s survey results. Among those respondents, 60 percent expect to drive, and 34 percent plan to fly. Twenty-six percent will take an outdoors trip, 24 percent will take a city escape, and 24 percent will take a beach trip. Traffic is the worst part of traveling for Labor Day for 40 percent of respondents, while 16 percent cited it being depressing that Labor Day represents the end of summer.

For autumn travel overall, 40 percent are planning a city trip, 28 percent will make cultural trips, and 27 percent will try to extend summer by hitting the beach. Fall foliage viewing was the top ranked fall activity, at 43 percent, followed by wine tasting/visiting a vineyard (29 percent) and attending a state/county fair or fall festival (23 percent).

Which destinations are U.S. travelers planning to visit this fall? New York City, Las Vegas, Orlando, Chicago and San Francisco.

Additional fall travel findings:

• 69 percent said they will stay in a hotel, 30 percent at the home of family or friends and 20 percent intend to stay at a vacation rental (respondents could choose more than one answer)
• Fewer crowds than summer (23 percent) and climate being more pleasant than during summer (22 percent) are the top two reasons travelers enjoy trips in the fall.
• 27 percent of travelers are planning to travel to a hurricane susceptible destination.
• 65 percent of travelers intend to take a domestic leisure trip this fall, while another 23 percent will travel both domestically and internationally, and 11 percent will take international-only trips.
• 70 percent of travelers will drive to their fall vacation destinations, while 69 percent plan to fly (percentage exceeds 100 due to some respondents taking more than one trip).

Photo: kimberlykv (via Flickr)

Related posts:
Fall Specials at Luxury Nantucket Results
11 Best Places to See Fall Leaves
Top Family Vacations for 2011 Announced by TripAdvisor

Source: http://travel-industry.uptake.com/blog/2011/08/23/more-u-s-travelers-gearing-up-for-fall-trips/

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