Fewer Investors Taking Vacations This Summer, Though Vacation Spending Holds Steady from Last Year, Says John Hancock Survey

BOSTON, June 25 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As the summer vacation travel season gets underway, fewer investors plan to travel for pleasure this summer (77 percent versus 82 percent in 2011), according to a recent survey by John Hancock Financial Services.  However, of those who are not travelling this summer, nearly four in ten plans to take a vacation at another time (38 percent).  Of those who do plan a vacation this summer, nearly six in ten (58 percent) plan to spend the same amount of money as they did last year, with 17 percent spending more and 25 percent spending less.

Domestic city destinations are by far the most popular, with 50 percent headed to a US city for tourism, while 29 percent will head to the beach and 22 percent plan an international trip.

"Americans are still proceeding with caution in spending their money on leisure activities, but it looks as though despite the challenging economic environment they are maintaining an even keel when it comes to taking time off from work," said Bill Cheney, Chief Economist for John Hancock.

The findings were drawn from the John Hancock Investor Sentiment Index™, a quarterly measure of investors' views on a range of investment choices, life goals, and economic outlook, as well as their confidence in these areas. 

Oil prices are having less of an effect on whether or not investors choose to take a summer trip. Roughly half of respondents said that oil prices had an impact on their travel destinations, but a little less than half (48 percent) said it would not affect them. Last year, 60 percent said that the oil prices were having an impact on their plans.

Half of this year's would-be travelers plan to fly to their destinations, with the other half driving.

About the John Hancock Investor Sentiment Survey
John Hancock's Investor Sentiment Survey is a quarterly poll of investors.  The survey measures investors' feelings about the current economic climate and their evaluations of what represents a good or bad investment given the current environment.  The poll also asks consumers about their confidence in reaching key financial goals and likelihood of purchasing financial products and services.

This online survey was conducted by independent research firm Mathew Greenwald & Associates.  A total of 1,011 investors were surveyed May 14 to May 25, 2012. Respondents were selected from among members of Research Now's online research panel.  To qualify, respondents were required to participate at least to some extent in their household's financial decision-making process, have a household income of at least $75,000, and assets of $100,000.

The data were weighted by age and education to reflect the population of Americans matching the survey's qualification requirements. In a similarly-sized random sample survey, the margin of error would be plus or minus 3.14 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.  Due to rounding and missing categories, numbers presented may not always total to 100 percent.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation
John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. In 2012, John Hancock celebrates 150 years of serving clients across the United States, while Manulife celebrates its 125th anniversary. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, Manulife Financial Corporation offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were C$512 billion (US$512 billion) as at March 31, 2012.  Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, fixed and variable annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

SOURCE John Hancock Financial

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED