Economic slump curbs Americans' summer travel

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Hit by the country's economic slow-down, a majority of Americans do not plan to travel this summer, and most of those who will won't be going far from home, according to a new poll.

Over a third, or 34 percent, of people surveyed in a Marist poll said that they had changed their travel plans to save money.

The telephone survey also showed that 55 percent of American adults won't be booking any summer vacation plans at all, compared to 52 percent in the summer of 2010.

"We're continuing to see the effects of the economic slump on people's vacation plans" said Dr. Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College poll. "People are reacting to the downturn and adjusting their vacation plans accordingly."

Of the 45 percent who do plan to travel, 41 percent said they were planning multiple short weekend trips, compared to 35 percent who wanted to go on at least one long trip.

In 2009, 47 percent of people planned to go out of town on an extended voyage and 42 percent said they were going on shorter trips.

Just under a quarter of those polled said they were planning both short weekend trips and longer vacations, compared with just 11 percent in 2009.

"The big question is what next summer will bring," Miringoff said. "It's income related ... and I think the economy will answer that question."

(Reporting by Bernd Debusmann Jr., editing by Patricia Reaney)

Photo credit: Rick Steves

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