3 Takeaways From MMGY Global’s Portrait of American Travelers

The latest intelligence on how to attract vacationers in the next year.

In June, research company MMGY Global released its 2018–2019 Portrait of American Travelers forecast. Now in its 28th year, the report surveyed 2,967 respondents on 4,000 variables that affect the demand for and selection of travel services. We spoke with Steve Cohen, senior vice president of travel insights at MMGY Global, about highlights from the report that may affect timeshare.

Travelers are taking longer vacations—and sometimes spending more.

“We’re seeing an increase in people going from a three-, four-day vacation to doing a full five-, six-, seven-day vacation,” Cohen says. “People taking more long vacations at the expense of weekend vacations bodes well for an industry that is looking for that seven-day vacationer.” And millennial families intend to spend 12 percent more on the same number of vacations in 2018.

Wellness travelers want resorts.

Out of those surveyed who are booking wellness trips, 68 percent prefer to stay at a resort, compared with 42 percent of non-wellness travelers. For resorts offering such amenities as a spa or yoga retreat, Cohen stresses the importance of making the guest aware of these offerings ahead of time. “Pre-arrival communication is critical,” he says. “If you don’t inform the guest that you have something available before they arrive, the last-minute traveler may partake when they get there, but you’ve lost the opportunity with the planners.”

Road trips keep trucking.

Continuing a trend from last year, 51 percent of all travelers took a road trip in the past year. Even more—61 percent—said they plan on taking one again. Many are even flying to a destination and hitting the road from there. “We’re seeing that people who use airlines to do their road trip like not being on a schedule” and being free to stop whenever they like, Cohen says.

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