FINDLAY, Ohio (Aug. 1, 2008) – Midway through the summer, more than 75 percent of consumers polled cited the price of fuel as the reason they will not be traveling this summer, according to a new opinion survey conducted by Corporate Research International (CRI), a leader in tracking national trends, issues and customer loyalty research. According to the survey, 65 percent of respondents said they were planning on traveling, however 77 percent said they would take fewer trips this year than what they had done last year, with 85 attributing that change to an increase in travel costs. Eighty-five percent of respondents are planning on taking one to two trips this season and 87 percent of consumers said they were only willing to travel by car. “Even with the end of summer and back to school right around the corner, consumers are cautious about their travel spending given the current economic situation,” said Mike Mallett, CEO of Corporate Research International “The survey shows that consumers are factoring in fuel prices more and more while they’re planning, but doing what they can to enjoy a summer vacation.” When creating budgets for their travel plans this year, respondents were split on how much they would spend per person. Thirty-two percent of respondents said they would only spend between $5 and $149 per person for travel arrangements, nearly 22 percent would spend between $150 and $249, and 23 percent said they would be willing to spend $450 or more per person. Seventy-one percent of respondents said the high fuel prices would impact how far they would travel to their destination, but more than 40 percent said they would not consider canceling their plans altogether because of higher fuel prices. Also, 86 percent of respondents said they were not planning on using their tax refund or rebate checks for summer travel. |
