Destination Management Company & Travel Statistics

It’s well known in the hospitality industry that summer is the high season for most tourist spots. People aren’t even using destination management companies for experiences. 45% of Americans take a summer vacation just on their own.

And it’s also not surprising where most Americans are going when they go on summer vacation: Florida, California, New York, and North Carolina. Especially with Florida and California, people want to get out to the sunny coastal beaches.

And over half of people who take summer vacations engage in swimming or some water sport at some point on the vacation.

All this makes sense.

But check this out: 91% of summer vacations are taken with a personal vehicle and only 7% of summer trips are done by air.

What that means is that most Americans are not flying to their destination. Rather, they are driving. And if you are driving, you aren’t going very far.


So what does that mean for hospitality professionals and destination management companies?

It means that if you depend on the summer tourist season as your high season that you still should cater to the local population. And any destination management company knows this.

The bottom line is that most of your customers are probably not going to come from somewhere far away, where you would have to fly.

Rather, your customers will come from a few hours drive away or even close by.

Here in Los Angeles, many Angelinos love to go to San Diego for their July 4 vacation (to the chagrin of anyone trying to avoid traffic on the freeway).

And that drive from Los Angeles to San Diego is only 2-3 hours.

So while it may be nice to get international travel or even travel from the opposite coast, it is always important to stay local, market to locals, (if you are a destination management company), and cater to locals.

What has your experience been with summer travel? Let us know in the comments below.


Destination Management Company & Travel Statistics

Share this Image On Your Site