10/18/2024: Ohio's Travel Industry and Current Travel Research

TRAVELERS SHARE PLANS FOR THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY. TRAVELERS ALSO SHARE JUST HOW MUCH THEY ARE WILLING TO SPEND DURING THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY.

Key findings from The Vacationer, fielded Oct. 4:

Travelers are planning to travel more for Thanksgiving (22%) than Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa (16%). However, most travelers are planning to travel for all the major holidays during the season (29%).
Americans in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania are most likely to travel for Thanksgiving this year (70%).
Nearly 47% of adults are planning to spend over $500 to travel for a vacation or holiday gathering for Thanksgiving. When breaking it down:
- 14% plan to spend $501-$1,000.
- 16% plan to spend $1,001-$1,500.
- 11% plan to spend $1,501-$2,000,
- 6% plan to spend $2,000 or more.

TRAVELERS INCREASINGLY CHOOSE EXPERIENCES FIRST, THEN SELECT A DESTINATION. SAFETY IS A KEY FACTOR AS WELL.

Key findings from McKinsey & Company, published Sept. 17:

Though cost and quality experiences still are high when travelers are booking their trips, safety and security at the destination is top of mind. 81% of respondents said they find safety important where as 65% said cost, and 63% said range/quality of activities.
Experiences are important. In fact, 52% of Gen Zers said they would splurge on experiences, compared to 29% of baby boomers.
Though we live in a very digital age, 47% of experience booking still happens over the phone or via walk-ups. Only 22% of booking occurs online.