Survey Reveals Growth Spurt in Family Travel

NEWTON, MA-Locally based TripAdvisor LLC has revealed the results of its annual family travel survey. Ninety-two percent of travelers with children plan to take at least one family vacation this year, up from 88% who did so last year, according to more than 1,100 US travelers surveyed. With 33% planning to take both domestic and international family trips, 2010 may also see a trend for traveling further abroad, up 5% from last year.

According to Rick George, a principal in the L.A. office of HREC Investment Advisors, families’ new-found willingness to travel on vacations “is a positive thing as families have been hit the hardest by this brutal recession. What is the economy to the regular Joe but a collection of ideas, opinions and feelings about what is good and not good, and if there is money in the bank account, things are good. Without a little extra money in the bank account, we wouldn’t be hearing about families planning to take more and bigger trips, so ultimately, this will lead to more demand.”

However, while many people have been reluctant to spend due to economic uncertainty, “they may have realized that the sky has not completely fallen,” says George, “and it might be O.K. to get out there and enjoy life with the kids.” He explains that there is a tremendous number of travel bargains being offered by “everyone, everywhere.”