Younger Americans Prefer Mini-Vacations

BY Rachel Cagle
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"Last year, two-​thirds (66%) of Americans took at least one trip shorter than five nights, driven by younger generations (72% of millennials and 69% of Gen X’ers, vs. 60% baby boomers), according to a new Ipsos poll. For some, these short breaks are the longest vacations they take: about three in ten Americans (29%) indicated their longest trip last year was lasted less than five nights."

"Even the purpose of such mini-​vacations varies across generations. When those who took trips shorter than five nights last year were asked the purpose of these trips, nearly one in three (32%) said it was easier to take a shorter amount of time off work, particularly for millennials (37%) and Gen X’ers (40%). Another one in three (32%) indicated it was because they only needed a few days to attend a special event or visit friends. Millennials (34%) and baby boomers (38%) were more likely to take this kind of trip, compared with 23% of Gen X’ers. One in four (26%) Americans who took a short vacation did so to be able to take more frequent albeit shorter trips. This is line with the finding that a quarter (25%) of Americans and nearly a third (29%) of millennials, specifically, took at least three mini-​vacations last year."

"For nearly two in 10 (19%) who took a mini-​vacation, the financial burden of longer trips was a motivator to keep it short. This was least likely to be a concern for the baby boomers (11%), and most concerning for millennials (25%) and Gen X’ers (21%). Those with a household income of at least $50k (51%) are also much more likely than those earning less than $50k (29%) to have taken a longer trip lasting at least five nights, underscoring that finances are also driving vacation preferences."

"For others, it’s simply easier to bring a friend along on a shorter trip than a longer one. One in 10 (10%) of those who took shorter vacations last year say it was due to the ease of finding a travel companion for a shorter trip, which is most likely to be a reason for millennials (18%, vs. 7% of Gen X’ers and just 3% of baby boomers)."

Most travel plans start online, and that is where travel agents can promote how they can help travelers with many of their vacation concerns. Last month, according to AudienceSCAN, 55.7% of Travel Planning Clients used the internet to research a product they were considering. Travel Planning Clients are also 76% more likely than other adults to find ads on their mobile apps useful and 33% more likely to click on text links ads on websites. More digital ads could also be incorporated into traveler-​targeting ad campaigns.

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. In addition, AdMall contains industry profiles on various types of travel-​related businesses, as well as lead lists at the local level. Media companies, sales reps and agencies can access this data with a subscription to AdMall from SalesFuel.


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