travelsurvey

WHEREwe want to go

Asia Tokyo (15%)Hong Kong (12%)Singapore (10%)

17%

North AmericaNew York (17%)

Vancouver (11%)San Francisco (7%)

24%

OceaniaSydney (24%)

Auckland (9%)Fiji (6%)

Central/South AmericaBuenos Aires (17%)

Rio (14%)Costa Rica (7%)

17%

14%

Ultimate DreamVacation Countries

Italy (8%)France (6%)

Australia (5%)

15%

EuropeParis (14%)London (9%)Rome (7%)

Survey respondents cited the following 5 keyfactors when deciding where to go onvacation:

Cost/value (83.6%)Cultural interest (74.4%)Exotic location (51.7%)Adventure/natureexploration (45.2%) Significant other / familywants or doesn’t wantto go (40.2%)

1.2.3.4.

HOWwe value vacations

• Exposure to beauty, culture,and new people (66%)

• Energy and excitement (52%)• Stress relief (51%)• Increased mental health (33%)• Reconnecting with family (29%)

87% said they take at least two vacationsper year

What respondents said:

38% said the typical length of theirvacation is one week

30% said they take up to two-weeks

It’s no wonder 81% of those polled said vacations arevery important, the benefits are priceless:

HOWwe pay for vacation

surveyed purchased airlinetickets directly from airlinevia computer (73.4%) ormobile device (6.2%)

pay for vacations using acombination of loyalty pointsand cash / credit card60%

17% add time to business trips to affordpersonal vacations

spend a minimum of 2-3 hours overmultiple days to find airfare deals. 27% spend more than 4 hours overmultiple days

80%Nearly

51%

A LA CARTE FEESTo pay or not to pay

Travelers don’t seem to be particularlybothered by baggage fees. • 41% of those surveyed said they never limit their packing in order to avoid such fees

• When asked if they have ever paid to select a preferred airplane seat 42% said they never pay to choose their own seat on the plane

More than one-third (37%) of respondents said they have taken travel precautions in the past12 months that they never have before, including:

1. Increased awareness and sensitivity to what and who is near me and what they are doing (80%)2. Avoiding specific destinations where there have been terror threats or incidents (41%)3. Buying travel insurance (40%)

SAFETY & SECURITYEffects on Travel Behavior

79% of survey participants said they would consider participating in an airport biotechnologyidentification program, such as fingerprint ID and retina scans, if it meant speedingup security checkpoints.

THE IMPACTof travel rewards & loyalty programs

of surveyparticipants saidthey did notparticipate in anairline rewardsprogram

passport

passportwere able to redeem points for either anupgrade or free travel in the past 12 months(up from 58% compared to ExpertFlyersurvey last year). 65%

While the majority of respondents were able to redeem points for upgradesor free travel, 50% said their ability to redeem declined in

the last 12 months. When asked which travel rewards program was yielding the greatest rewards,the majority (43%) said their credit card versus airline 41% and hotel (16%) loyalty programs.

Top three credit cards used for travel rewards based on survey responses

said they do not use a credit card offering airline rewards

30%21.2%

Amex Membership Rewards Cards

Citi/Advantage Cards

United Mileage Plus Explorer Cards19%20%

Top airline loyalty programs as indicated by survey respondents

said they still donot participate ina hotel rewardsprogram

52% AmericanAirlines

52% UnitedAirlines

Delta48%

32% Southwest

4%Only

Top three hotel reward programs based on survey data

·HOTEL·

·HOTEL·

·HOTEL·

·HOTEL·

22%

18%

13%

18%

MarriottRewards

HiltonHonors

StarwoodPreferred Guest

• Delta received the greatest number of votes in the favorite airline category (12%),followed by American at 9%, and British Airways at 8%

• When asked which airline was the least favorite, United was the winner of the losers (22%)

• Interestingly, American Airlines claims bragging rights as boththe #2 favorite and least favorite (15%) followed by Spirit (13%)

5.

TABLETS, TEXTS, & TWITTERHow we keep in touch while traveling

1. TRIPADVISOR (62%),2. AIRLINE APPS (42%),3. UBER (26%)

The top 10 digital communications tools used by travelers surveyed are:

Aside from a mobilephone, respondentssaid their:

• Tablet (42%)• Laptop (20%)• Digital Camera (13%)

were must-taketech while on vacation

Snapchat (4%)

Email (88%)Text (63%)

Whatsapp (30%)

Facebook (52%)

FacebookMessenger (29%)

Skype (26%)Instagram (15%)

Twitter (12%)

LinkedIn (8%)

“Less than 30 percent of respondents were able to redeem awards at the ‘saver level,’underscoring the difficulty in redeeming award points at this level.  The fact that 65 %were able to redeem their miles but 50 percent said their success rate declined tellsme that are simply using more miles to obtain awards and upgrades while others areholding out for saver-level deals but can’t finding them.”– Jason Steele, Senior Points and Miles Contributor for The Points Guy an expert in award travel and credit cards

“It’s somewhat breathtaking to learn that 79% would relinquish some privacy to expeditesecurity processes with retina scans and other biometrics technology. However the idea is notuncommon. The Japanese government is testing a system where travelers can link fingerprints to]passports and credit cards to speed up airport and shopping lines when it hosts theOlympics in 2020.”– Sean O’Neill, editor, Tnooz

“It is nice to see that many respondents are taking vacations but 55% of Americans are not. One-third of unused vacation days in 2015 (222 million collective days) were forfeited withoutpay or rollover. That translates to more than $61 billion worth of de facto volunteerism toemployees.” – Katie Denis, Senior Director, Project: Time Off

were named the topthree most frequentlyused free travel apps

WHATairlines should do to win or keep customers

To keep passengers happy,respondents said airlinesshould:

Make flying more comfortable (84%)

Make customer loyalty count more towards earning miles (64%)

• baggage fees • snacks • select your seat

47% want airlines to reduce a la carte pricing on:

ExpertFlyer surveyed morethan 1,200 subscribers to learnmore about current consumertravel trends and behaviorsthis vacation season.

LOVED & LOATHEDMost favored and least favored airlines

©2016 ExpertFlyer

Summer Travel SurveySources- ExpertFlyer survey of approximately 1,200 subscribers

Data Analysis- Katie Denis, Senior Director, Project: Time Off - Sean O’Neill, Editor, Tnooz- Jason Steele, Senior Points and Miles Contributor for The Points Guy an expert in award travel and credit cards

Empowering the Frequent Flyer®