U.S. Travelers Eager for Autumn Trips

86 Percent Planning Fall Getaways Compared to 74 Percent That Traveled Last Fall, According to TripAdvisor Survey

76 Percent Said Plans Not Affected By Recent Economic News

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Aug 23, 2011, 06:00 ET

NEWTON, Mass., Aug. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor®, the world's largest travel site*, today announced the results of its annual fall and Labor Day travel survey of more than 1,600 U.S. respondents. Eighty-six percent of travelers are planning leisure trips this fall, compared to 74 percent that said they traveled for fun last autumn. Fifty-six percent are planning weekend getaway trips this autumn, and 35 percent have one week trips in store.

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Travelers Unafraid to Open Wallets

Seventy-six percent of respondents said their fall travel plans are not affected by recent economic news. Thirty-seven percent of travelers intend to spend more than they did last fall on leisure trips, while 46 percent plan to spend about the same amount. Nearly half of travelers (48 percent) feel the fall is the most economical season to travel.

Top 3 Fall Trip Types:

1. City trip – 40%

2. Cultural trip – 28%

3. Beach trip – 27%

Top 3 Fall Activities:

1. View colorful fall foliage – 43%

2. Wine tasting/visiting a vineyard – 29%

3. Attend a state/county fair or fall festival – 23%

Top 5 U.S. Destinations Travelers Plan to Visit this Autumn:

1. New York City

2. Las Vegas

3. Orlando

4. Chicago

5. San Francisco

Labor Day Escapes

Twenty-eight percent of travelers intend to travel for Labor Day weekend this year, equal to those that said they planned to in last year's survey. Among those traveling for the holiday, 60 percent expect to drive, and 34 percent plan to fly. Twenty-six percent will take an outdoors trip, 24 percent will take a city escape and another 24 percent will take a beach trip. Forty-seven percent will see family and friends for the holiday weekend. The worst part of traveling for Labor Day is the traffic, according to 40 percent of respondents, while 16 percent cited it being depressing that Labor Day represents the end of summer.

Other Fall Travel Tidbits:

Sixty-nine percent said they will stay in a hotel, 30 percent at the home of family or friends and 20 percent intend to stay at a vacation rental for their fall trips.
Fewer crowds than summer (23 percent) and climate being more pleasant than during summer (22 percent) are the top two reasons travelers enjoy trips in the fall.
Twenty-seven percent of travelers are planning to travel to a hurricane susceptible destination this fall.
Sixty-five percent of travelers intend to take a domestic leisure trip this fall, while a further 23 percent will travel both domestically and internationally and 11 percent will take international-only trips.
Seventy percent of travelers will drive to their fall vacation destinations, while 69 percent plan to fly.

"While Labor Day represents the end of summer vacations for some, it also signals the beginning of shoulder season deals and fewer crowds at popular destinations for travelers able to schedule fall getaways," said Karen Drake, senior director of communications for TripAdvisor.

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor® is the world's largest travel site, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features (including Flights search, TripAdvisor Mobile and Instant Personalization) with seamless links to booking tools.

TripAdvisor® Media Group, operated by TripAdvisor LLC, attracts more than 60 million unique monthly visitors* across 19 popular travel brands**. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 45 million unique monthly visitors***, 20 million members, and over 50 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide****, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also operates TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to TripAdvisor's millions of monthly visitors. The division includes Business Listings, which allows hoteliers to connect directly to millions of researching travelers, and Vacation Rentals, which helps property managers and individual home owners list their properties and showcase hotel alternatives.

TripAdvisor Media Group websites have been recognized as top travel resources in 2010 by Condé Nast Traveller, Good Housekeeping, TIME magazine and Travel + Leisure.

TripAdvisor Media Group generated $486 million in revenue in 2010. TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Group are operating companies of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE).

TripAdvisor and the TripAdvisor logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of TripAdvisor LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

* Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Media Group Sites, Worldwide, June 2011

** In addition to TripAdvisor, The TripAdvisor Media Group of websites includes: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.sniqueaway.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com, www.virtualtourist.com, www.whereivebeen.com, and www.kuxun.cn.