(Originally published in TOURISM)
Vacations are shorter, but Americans still see their trips as a birthright, according to a recent address given by Peter Yesawich, chairman and CEO of Pepperdine, Brown & Russell. Yesawich was keynote speaker at conference reported on by Tom Groening in the Bangor (Maine) Daily News.
Americans with children are seeking to use their vacations to reconnect with the family unit, said Yesawich, who based his report on an annual survey of 1,600 Americans considered active travellers. "Consumers want to reconnect with what they feel is really important in their lives," Yesawich continued, and that something is family. Surveys have shown 71% of parents wish they could spend more time as a family, and 69% wish they had more time to sit and talk with their children. Fully 61% of parents said they are willing to take their children out of school for a family vacation.
The survey also found that the internet is present in 80% of homes, but just 56% of active travellers use the Web exclusively to make travel decisions. Yesawich concludes that the internet's impact as a marketing tool may have reached reached a plateau. Further supporting this view: the survey showed 68% of those using the Web to research travel report having difficulty finding what they want, and 76% report banner ads are a "nuisance." In 1998, banner ads were "clicked" by 4.6% percent of users, compared to just 0.2% today.
Vacations are shorter, but Americans still see their trips as a birthright, according to a recent address given by Peter Yesawich, chairman and CEO of Pepperdine, Brown & Russell. Yesawich was keynote speaker at conference reported on by Tom Groening in the Bangor (Maine) Daily News.
Americans with children are seeking to use their vacations to reconnect with the family unit, said Yesawich, who based his report on an annual survey of 1,600 Americans considered active travellers. "Consumers want to reconnect with what they feel is really important in their lives," Yesawich continued, and that something is family. Surveys have shown 71% of parents wish they could spend more time as a family, and 69% wish they had more time to sit and talk with their children. Fully 61% of parents said they are willing to take their children out of school for a family vacation.
The survey also found that the internet is present in 80% of homes, but just 56% of active travellers use the Web exclusively to make travel decisions. Yesawich concludes that the internet's impact as a marketing tool may have reached reached a plateau. Further supporting this view: the survey showed 68% of those using the Web to research travel report having difficulty finding what they want, and 76% report banner ads are a "nuisance." In 1998, banner ads were "clicked" by 4.6% percent of users, compared to just 0.2% today.
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