the state of the american traveler tm · seem hopelessly addicted to their mobile devices. as...
TRANSCRIPT
usage of mobile phones is stabilizing, their use in travel
planning is rapidly growing. While traditional desktop
and laptop devices still are more heavily used and
preferred for travel planning, this landscape is changing.
We hope you find this edition of value. If you should have
questions or ideas for future survey topics, we welcome
you to message us.
or @DA_Research.
SPONSORED BY
The Mobile Edition
The State of the American Traveler
TM
MOBILE EDITION
Fall 2018 | Volume 30
THIS FALL EDITION of The State of the American
TravelerTM continues our ongoing exploration of travelers’
use of mobile devices. We begin, as is our tradition, with
an examination of current American travel sentiment
which continues to be very positive. The record levels
of optimism for travel that we have seen in the past few
years show no signs of abating. After this look at travel
sentiment, we look deeply into travel and mobile devices.
While our apparent addiciton to as well as our overall
THE STATE OF THE AMERICAN TRAVELER SURVEYTM is conducted quarterly by
Destination Analysts, Inc., a San Francisco-based tourism industry research company.
The survey is conducted online amongst a nationally representative sample of adult
Americans. From September 23rd to the 30th, 2018, surveys were collected from a
group of respondents who were then screened by their leisure travel behavior. Only
those respondents who had traveled at least once in the past 12 months for purely
leisure or personal reasons were interviewed. This travel must have been of at least 50
miles one-way — the standard distance threshold used in the tourism industry to signify
that a “trip” has been taken.
In total, 2,030 leisure travelers completed the survey. With this sample size, the top line
data presented here can be considered to have a reliability of +/- 2.2%. This information
is provided “as is” and intended for informational purposes only. It should not be relied
upon for operational, marketing, legal, technical, tax, financial or other advice.
Destination Analysts is not responsible for your use of the information contained herein
(including errors, omissions, inaccuracy or non-timeliness of any kind) or any
assumptions or conclusions you might draw from its use.
Travel Expectations: Trips & Spending
Impediments to Travel
Mobile Phones and Travel Planning
Mobile Travel Planning Preferences
Mobile Addiction Index
Fun Facts: Travelers and Mobile Phones
Methodology
Contents
02
03
04
07
08
09
01
JAN 2018
APR 2018
OCT 2017
Travel Expectations (Trips) Travel Expectations (Spending)
JULY 2017
55.6%
56.4%
37.0%
37.6%
7.4%
6.1%
54.6%
38.2%
7.2%
58.5%
32.9%
8.7%
54.0%
55.3%
36.5%
37.1%
9.4%
7.6%
54.6%
35.8%
9.6%
OCT 2018 54.5%
37.5%
8.0%
53.1%
36.9%
10.1%
JULY 2018 57.4%
32.5%
10.1%
55.6%
31.7%
12.7%
55.2%
34.4%
10.4%
expect moreTHE KEY: expect the same expect less
THE REMARKABLE STREAK OF HIGH LEISURE
TRAVEL EXPECTATIONS continues. In the last several
years, American travel expectations have been strong
and stable, a pattern that shows no signs of changing.
In October of this year, 37.5 percent of Americans say
they expect to travel more for leisure in the upcoming
year, down very slightly from 38.2 percent one year
earlier. Travel spending expectations are also up,
with 36.9 percent of travelers planning to increase
their spending in the upcoming 12 months. Further
highlighting the positive outlook for the domestic
leisure travel market, the average American expects to
spend $3,232 on their leisure travels in the next year,
up 2.6 percent from one year earlier.
1.1 Travel Expectations:Trips & Spending
02
Q: In the next 12 months, do you expect to
spend more or less on leisure travel than you
did in the most recent 12 month period?
Q : In the next 12 months, do you expect to
travel more or less for leisure than you did in
the most recent 12 month period?
0 030 3010 1020 2040 4050 50 6060Percentage
16.1
What Keeps Us From Traveling?2.1
As always, personal finances are the most important
factor constraining our leisure travels-but the negative
forces they put on leisure markets has lessened somewhat
this year. Our Fall 2018 poll shows that just over one
third (36.9%) of American leisure travelers reported that
“personal financial reasons” had kept them at home, to
a degree, during the past year. This is down from 44.0
percent last year at the same time. The demands of the
workforce also continue to be significant. Just under
one third of Americans (32.2%) say that either being “too
busy at work” (23.7%) or “not having enough vacation
time” (17.2%) kept them at home. While its unlikely that a
sea-change is happening in our over-worked culture, the
good news is that these figures are down from last year,
when 37.2 percent said work demands had kept them
from traveling more than they would have hoped.
03
Percentage
0 3010 20 40
% Concerns over personal finances are down 16.1 percent from this time last year.
FINANCIAL REASONS 36.9%
TOO BUSY AT WORK 23.7%
AIRFARE TOO EXPENSIVE 20.8%
GAS TOO EXPENSIVE 18.0%
NOT ENOUGH VACATION TIME 17.2%
SAFETY CONCERNS 13.5%
HEALTH/ILLNESS 11.9%
WEATHER 10.9%
In the past year, money-related impediments to travel
have diminished. Concerns over personal finances
peaked last year at this time, with 44.0 percent of
leisure travelers saying these worries had, to some
degree, kept them at home in the previous 12 month.
In the most recent survey, only 36.9 percent said that
financial concerns had kept them from traveling this
year, a significant improvement.
45
40
35
30
%Oct 2017
Jan 2018
July 2018
Oct 2018
Q : In the past 12 months, which (if any) of the following kept you from
traveling more for leisure than you would have otherwise preferred?
Travel Impediments
Personal Financial Concerns by Survey Cycle
35.7%
39.6%
36.9%
44.0%
Personal Financial Concerns Abate
July‘10
Jan‘11
Jan‘10
3.1
A plurality of leisure travelers, of course, continue to
use their mobile phones to plan their leisure travels. As
we have tracked use of mobile devices for leisure travel
planning for well over a decade, the trends seem evident.
In 2008, fewer than one in five (17.2%) travelers used them
to help plan their leisure trips.
Now, fully 96 percent of American leisure travelers own
or regularly use a mobile phone, with 64.7 percent using
this device to plan their trips. The proportion of leisure
travelers using their phones as travel planning resources
seems to have moderated in recent years, at about two
thirds of the traveling population.
Mobile Phone Usage in Travel PlanningPercent using in past 12 months
04
Going Mobile: Phones & Travel Planning
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
%
17.2%
64.7%
of leisure travelers own or still regularly use a mobile phone96July‘12
July‘14
July‘16
July‘11
July‘13
July‘15
Jan‘17
Jan‘18
Jan‘13
Jan‘15
Oct‘16
Oct‘17
Oct‘18
Jan‘12
Jan‘14
Jan‘16
July‘17
July‘18
32
.4%
29
.1%
27.5
%
36
.6%
44
.2%
45
.6%
14.3
%
13.1
%
13.0
%
16.7
%
13.6
%
13.9
%
Laptop/ Desktop
Tablet Smartphone Print
3.2
05
OCT ‘16
Q: What percentage of your travel planning
is typically done using each of the following
before you leave for your trip?
DURINGTHE TRIPQ: What percentage of your travel planning
is typically done using each of the following
while on your your trip?
80
60
40
20
0
%Laptop/ Desktop
Tablet Smartphone Print
OCT ‘16
BEFORETHE TRIP
65
.2%
60
.6%
57.6
%
15.5
%
21.
0%
23
.4%
9.6
%
10.0
%
10.6
%
9.7
%
8.4
%
8.4
%
OCT ‘17 OCT ‘17OCT ‘18 OCT ‘18
Use of mobile phones in trip planning before leaving home has nearly tripled in the past 3 years.
3.3
Beyond simply gathering logistical information for their trips, most travelers also use their mobile phones to find
inspiration or ideas on places to travel. Whether using social media, search engines, travel apps or simply finding
ideas by chance, well over half of the traveling public (54.3%) say they use their phones for such inspiration. One in
five (19.9%) say they do so frequently.
06
Mobile phones continue to be more and
more important in all stages of travel
planning. They’re also important sources of destination inspiration.
Q: Do you ever use your mobile phone
to find inspiration and ideas for where to
travel for leisure?
TRAVEL RESEARCH AND INSPIRATION
20.7%
45.7%
23.0%
10.6%
54.3SAY YES
%
YES, FREQUENTLY
YES, SOMETIMES
YES, BUT RARELY
NO, NEVER
Significant 3 Year Shift
07
4
Not only are mobile phones being used more, but
consumer preferences are beginning to shift toward
mobile planning. Travelers still report a generally higher
level of preference for using desktop or laptop devices.
Nearly half (48.8%) say that if given a choice, they would
generally prefer or strongly prefer to use these devices
over other options. However, over a third (33.4%) of
travelers say they would now prefer to use their mobile
phone over other options. This marks a significant shift
in consumer opinion—a near tripling of this figure from
three years ago when it stood at 11.9 percent.
Desktop vs. Mobile Preferences
10
0
20
30
40
STRONGLY PREFER MOBILE
PREFER MOBILE NEUTRAL,NO PREFERENCE
PREFER LAPTOP
‘16 ‘17‘15 ‘18 ‘16 ‘17‘15 ‘18 ‘16 ‘17‘15 ‘18 ‘16 ‘17‘15 ‘18 ‘16 ‘17‘15 ‘18
STRONGLY PREFER LAPTOP
Q: If you were given the choice of using a mobile
phone or a laptop computer, which would you prefer to
research activities and attractions?
34%220%
6.9
%
22.1
%
39.0
%
25.9
%
increase in strong preference for mobile
decrease in strong preference for laptop
%
MOBILE PHONE ADDICTION SPECTRUM, 2018
08
5.1
We’ve all seen them; friends, family and coworkers that
seem hopelessly addicted to their mobile devices. As
observers of this widespread problem, our research
team created Destination Analysts’ Mobile Addiction
IndexTM—a set of behavioral and opinion tracking
Destination Analysts’ Mobile Addiction
IndexTM measures a traveler’s behavioral and
emotional dependency on mobile devices.
Higher scores indicate higher levels of
dependency on these devices. The index
now stands at 58, unchanged from last year.
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
%
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Score
LESS ADDICTED MORE ADDICTED
58 2017 & 2018 AVG.51
2015
572016
582017 & 2018
AVERAGE MOBILE ADDICTION SCORE
Mobile Addiction is Staying Highquestions that measures the importance of mobile
devices to the emotional world of travelers. While any
level of addiction is worrisome, the good news is that
travelers, as a group, seem to have a handle on the
problem, or at least things aren’t getting worse.
We showed earlier that most travelers actively use
their phones for destination inspiration, scouring social
media, browsing photos or proactively using search
engines. The mobile environment is now powerful for
effecting destination selection. Over the last two years
travelers have used mobile devices their go-to resource
to entertain themselves when bored or unoccupied.
Over the last two years growth in this index has virtually stopped.
20162017
20152018
Q: In the normal course of your day, if you become
bored or momentarily have some free time, how often
will you feel the urge to pick up your mobile phone to
entertain yourself?
A DESTINATION MARKETER’S DREAM?80.4%
Percent ‘always’ or
‘often’
83.8%56.0%
42.0%
6.1
09
Fun Facts: Travelers & Mobile Phones
Very Likely26.7%
Likely20.5%
SomewhatLikely21.9%
Unlikely15.7%
Very Unlikely
15.2%
Q: If my mobile device was lost or stolen and I could not replace it within two days, it would be
a very emotionally difficult situation for me.
Q: In the normal course of your day, if you become bored or momentarily have some free
time, how often will you feel the urge to pick up your mobile phone to entertain yourself?
Always45.3%
Often35.1%
Sometimes14.0%
Rarely4.8%
Never0.8%
Q: You are in a social situation (e.g., a party, dinner with friends or family, a business meeting, etc.) and you
receive a text or email message. How likely are you to immediately look at your mobile device to read it?
Always18.0%
Often21.6%
Sometimes29.9%
Rarely18.4%
Never12.1%
Q: When you are using your mobile device in the company of friends and family, how likely
are you to feel guilty (even if momentarily) that you are not interacting with them?
Very Likely17.5%
Likely20.4%
SomewhatLikely32.6%
Unlikely17.2%
Very Unlikely
12.3%
Q: In the normal course of your day, how often is your mobile phone on your
person (or within easy reach)?
Always28.1%
Often29.3%
Sometimes22.3%
Rarely10.1%
Never10.1%
Q: If you are driving and you receive a text or email message, how likely are you to look at your
mobile device and read it while driving or at the next stop sign/light?
Always12.6%
Often15.2%
Sometimes19.9%
Rarely19.3%
Never33.0%
