91 Percent of Americans Traveling for Leisure, According to Annual TripAdvisor Survey Nearly One Third of Travelers Will Spend More on Leisure Travel this Summer

NEWTON, Mass., May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor®, the world's most popular and largest travel community, today announced the results of its annual summer travel survey of more than 2,300 U.S. respondents. The vast majority of U.S. travelers plan to take leisure trips this summer (91 percent), up slightly from 89 percent last year. Eighty percent of travelers will take seven or more days of vacation this summer, and only 11 percent of travelers say the recent volatility in the stock market impacts their plans.

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According to TripAdvisor site data, the top-searched destinations for hotels in the U.S. this summer are New York City, Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach, Orlando and San Francisco.

Dishing Out the Dough

Nearly a third of travelers (31 percent) plan to spend more on summer travel this year, while 42 percent will spend the same amount as last year. An overwhelming 82 percent of those surveyed said that their Memorial Day travel plans will not be affected by the economy, and nearly half (49 percent) said the economy does not affect their summer travel plans overall.

Reign in the Rascals!

Out-of-control children are far and away the top summer travel irritation, according to a whopping 48 percent of Americans. Erratic driving and line cutting at attractions are next up for most aggravating summer annoyances, tied at 10 percent.

Memorial Madness

Memorial Day is the most popular holiday for travel this summer, with 20 percent planning to travel for the holiday.

• Travel is up slightly from last year for the Memorial Day break, when 18 percent planned to hit the road or take to the skies.
• More than a quarter of people (26 percent) will spend the upcoming Memorial Day holiday visiting family and friends at their home.
• 20 percent are headed outdoors for the holiday.
• 19 percent have their beach bags packed and are bound for the shoreline.

Summer Prepping and Primping

Travelers take summer vacation preparation seriously. The number one personal priority is to purchase new clothes (55 percent), followed by getting a haircut (53 percent), and plans to diet (25 percent). A total of 14 percent of travelers get some kind of body hair waxed before taking off on a summer trip.

Travelers are also opinionated about summer travel fashion sense: the number one fashion faux pas in the U.S. is to wear sandals with socks, followed by speedos, and clothing that is too tight.

Travelers Walking on Wild Side

Sixty-two percent of travelers surveyed will travel somewhere new this summer, with a total of 44 percent taking on both new and old destinations. Fifty-three percent plan to get their summer kicks visiting a city, while 45 percent will be headed for the ocean, and 22 percent will relax at a resort.

The top five "questionable behaviors" travelers admit to engaging themselves in while on a summer leisure trip:

• Public intoxication – 17%
• Skinny Dipping – 13%
• Visiting a private beach or pool without permission – 8%
• Having a spontaneous summer fling – 8%
• Nude sunbathing – 7%

Top 10 U.S. Destinations for Beach & Sun for 2010

TripAdvisor also recently announced the winners of its Travelers' Choice™ Destinations Awards, including the best for Beach & Sun, based on the millions of real and unbiased reviews and opinions from travelers on TripAdvisor.com. The winners were determined by a combination of travelers' destination comments, favorite places, and overall destination popularity on TripAdvisor.

1.  Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g54359-Myrtle-Beach-South-Carolina-Vacations.html

2.  San Diego, California

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g60750-San-Diego-California-Vacations.html

3.  Poipu, Hawaii

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g60625-Poipu-Kauai-Hawaii-Vacations.html

4.  Cape May, New Jersey

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g46341-Cape-May-New-Jersey-Vacations.html

5.  Clearwater, Florida

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g34141-Clearwater-Florida-Vacations.html

6.  Sanibel Island, Florida

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g34616-Sanibel-Island-Florida-Vacations.html

7.  Sarasota, Florida

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g34618-Sarasota-Florida-Vacations.html

8.  Destin, Florida

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g34182-Destin-Florida-Vacations.html

9.  Wailea, Hawaii

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g609129-Wailea-Maui-Hawaii-Vacations.html

10.  Honolulu, Hawaii

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g60982-Honolulu-Oahu-Hawaii-Vacations.html

"Volcanoes and a volatile stock market can't keep travelers from hitting the road this summer to enjoy some time away from home," said Christine Petersen, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor.  "Both city and seashore breaks look to be equally popular with Americans in the coming months, and with some three in four travelers planning to spend the same amount or more than last year, it seems that few will sacrifice their summer adventures."

About TripAdvisor Media Network

TripAdvisor® Media Network, operated by TripAdvisor, LLC, attracts 46 million monthly visitors* across 15 popular travel brands: TripAdvisor®, www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.frequentflier.com, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com and www.virtualtourist.com. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 34 million monthly visitors*, 15 million registered members and 35 million reviews and opinions. Featuring real advice from real travelers, TripAdvisor-branded sites cover more than one million destinations, hotels, restaurants and attractions and operate in the U.S. (http://www.tripadvisor.com), the U.K. (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk), Ireland (http://www.tripadvisor.ie), France (http://www.tripadvisor.fr), Germany (http://www.tripadvisor.de), Italy (http://www.tripadvisor.it), Spain (http://www.tripadvisor.es), India (http://www.tripadvisor.in), Japan (http://www.tripadvisor.jp), Portugal and Brazil (http://www.tripadvisor.com.br), Sweden (http://www.tripadvisor.se), The Netherlands (http://nl.tripadvisor.com), Canada (http://www.tripadvisor.ca), Denmark (http://www.tripadvisor.dk), Turkey (http://www.tripadvisor.com.tr) , Mexico (http://www.tripadvisor.com.mx),  Norway (http://no.tripadvisor.com), Poland (http://pl.tripadvisor.com) and Australia (http://www.tripadvisor.com.au). TripAdvisor also operates in China under the brand daodao.com (http://www.daodao.com) and Kuxun.cn (http://www.kuxun.cn). TripAdvisor® Media Network provides travel suppliers with graphical advertising opportunities and a cost-per-click marketing platform. Collectively, the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network have won hundreds of awards and accolades from press and industry worldwide. TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network are operating companies of Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE).

TripAdvisor, TripAdvisor.com, Travelers' Choice and the TripAdvisor logo are registered trademarks of TripAdvisor LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries.  Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix, Worldwide, March 2010

SOURCE TripAdvisor