In February, the U.S. Traveler Sentiment IndexTM climbed to 90.2 from 78.2 in October 2008. An increased in the perceived “affordability of travel” is the driver of this trend. Since travel companies are desperate to fill seats and guestrooms, potential travelers are showing a bit more optimism.
The index, which is part of the travelhorizonsTM survey conducted by Ypartnership gauges traveler sentiment and is benchmarked at 100 with a starting date of March 2007. It is derived from six statistical measures.
“We are very encouraged that more people are signaling a willingness to travel for leisure purposes,” said Peter C. Yesawich, chairman of Ypartnership. “This is the first increase we have observed in the Index since January 2008, which indicates that the discounts travel providers and destinations are offering are working to attract more travelers, even in this down economy. As it turns out, this is actually a terrific time to travel because some of these great deals are sure to disappear once the industry begins to recover.”
Yet, the outlook is far from positive. The U.S. Travel Association expects a 5.6 percent drop in business travel this year – revised downward from an initial estimate of 3.5 percent. And, the reason for the increase in traveler sentiment – aggressive price-cutting – isn’t sustainable.