No surprise that Americans are more inclined than ever to take “last minute” vacations, but planning times are also getting shorter — typically just six days prior to departure, says a new study.
“One of the market forces accelerating this trend is the growing use of ‘flash sales’ by travel service suppliers. These impulsive offers, delivered through unsolicited emails, have become more commonplace during the past 12 months as suppliers have tried to liquidate what would otherwise be unsold inventory,” says the Ypartnership/Harrison Group 2010 Portrait of American Travelers.
Some of the deals are so irresistible, it’s no wonder they drive impulsive demand (fully one out of seven recipients of these unsolicited emails reports purchasing a travel service as a result), the study found.
“While you might expect the recipients of these offers to book a weekend flight or hotel room on a whim, the booking of a complete vacation package (38 percent) or a cruise (21 percent) is unprecedented,” according to the study.
Another of the report’s findings: one out of four leisure travelers took a vacation in their local area as an alternative to more extensive travel destinations.
“This type of vacation appears to be yet another manifestation of the trend toward more impulsive vacation behavior on such short notice,” the report concluded.
By David Wilkening
