Optimism Fuels the Outlook for Vacations

More trips. More family. More concern about having enough time to do it all. Those are among the findings of a survey of 1,351 leisure travelers by Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown, an Orlando, Fla.-based marketing, advertising and public relations firm specializing in travel.

Among leisure travelers, 36% say they will travel more this year, according to Peter C. Yesawich, president and CEO of the firm. If those plans work out, that would translate into 6% more leisure trips.

The “gray cloud” that has hung over the travel industry since the Sept. 11 attacks “has dissipated,” said Yesawich, who presented results of the 2002 National Leisure Travel Monitor at a news conference last week in Washington, D.C.

The number of people who went to see family and friends increased by 17%, a result of fears generated by the terrorist attacks. But Americans still don’t think they have enough time for vacation; 55% said their time off isn’t sufficient, and more than a quarter say they would trade a raise for more vacation time.

Thirty-eight percent surveyed cited California as a prime vacation spot among states, second only to Florida (40%), followed by Colorado and Hawaii (tied at 19%) and Arizona (18%).