Survey Shows Despite Concerns About High Gas Prices And Recession, Travelers Plan Summer Travel

With responses from more than 3,300 travelers, BedandBreakfast.com found that nearly 80% plan to take as many or more trips this summer as they did last year and are evenly split between staying closer to home for 'staycations' to traveling farther away for 'go-cations' (defined as flying or driving to more distant destinations). While the desire to travel is strong, if gas prices hit $4 per gallon, more than 67% of the survey respondents expect to reduce their plans to travel between now and Labor Day.

'With gas prices reaching a 2009 high of $71 per barrel this week, and prices at the pump rising by forty cents in the last month, we are relieved to learn from our surveys that nearly 70% of respondents are still planning between two to four trips between now and Labor Day,' commented Sandy Soule, Marketing VP at BedandBreakfast.com. Soule concurs with Charlie Leocha, founder of www.Tripso.com, the oldest continuously published travel news and commentary site online today, that gas prices won't have a significant effect on summer travel; in fact, when compared to a year ago, travel is a real bargain.

The BedandBreakfast.com second quarter travel planning survey was distributed to more than 41,000 BedandBreakfast.com subscribers in June 2009. More than 3,300 people responded to the survey, offering insight into traveler sentiment and planning trends for summer, 2009. The survey revealed that:

- 70.5% say they'll take 2-4 trips this summer.

- 78.6% say they'll take as many or more trips this summer as last (roughly on par with the BedandBreakfast.com Q1 traveler survey of March 2009).

- Respondents are evenly tied between 'staycations' and go-cations; this marks a significant change since the BedandBreakfast.com Q1 survey, when more than 75% said they'd stay closer to home.

- While the recession has had an effect on travel plans for 6 out of 10 respondents, they're still anticipating summer vacations. 51.2% of survey respondents said they would change their plans and spend less each day, while 43.4% said they would vacation for fewer days due to recession factors.

- 76% said good deals on lodging would encourage them to travel more, while nearly 50% said that the simple need to get away was the biggest motivator for travel.

- Relaxation was most popular anticipated activity for upcoming vacations (65%), followed by visiting with friends and family (56%) and swimming at beaches and lakes (47%).

'Clearly travelers are price sensitive and are responding to the travel bargains being offered today,' observed Soule. 'Reduced airfares have stimulated a move away from the popular staycation trend of recent years. With the busy upcoming July 4 weekend poised to kick off summer travel, many great B&B getaways are available to those seeking affordable travel options,' finished Soule.

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