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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JUST THE FACTS

TRAVEL PLANS AND PREFERENCES BY REGION
According To The American Express Leisure Travel Index
Timeframe: Fourth Quarter 2003 through 2004

Northeast

End-of-year travel 2003

• Twenty-six percent of Northeasterners plan to take a leisure trip during the remainder of 2003 (September through December); 35% will travel over the Christmas holiday, 24% will travel for Thanksgiving, 21% will travel to celebrate New Years.

2003-2004 travel

• Northeasterners, on average, are planning to take nearly two extended vacations from September 2003-2004 (2 vacations on average), on par with Southerners (2 vacations) and with travelers from the North Central states (2 vacations), but fewer than Westerners (3 vacations).
• The average extended vacation trip of five days or more for Northeasterners in 2004 will be 8 days, the same as the national average.
• Northeasterners are planning to spend $3,024 on average, the highest in the nation, on long pleasure trips in 2004, up from $2,013 they say they plan to spend for all 2003 long vacations.
• Thirty-nine percent will only be traveling in the U.S.; 22% will only travel internationally; 36% will travel both domestically and internationally.
• Nearly half will visit family or friends (49%), others will head for the beach (30%), seek a camping or outdoors vacation (22%), visit cultural or historical sites (20%), travel to a theme park (19%), visit a casino (14%), go on a cruise (12%), and plan a ski vacation (10%).
• Car travel is part of vacation plans for 52%; 57% will fly.

Long weekends

• Sixty-three percent of Northeasterners will take both an extended vacation and long weekends of 2 - 4 days. They are planning an average of four weekend getaways. They will spend $599 on average for each long weekend, more than weekend travelers in the South ($580), the West ($520), and the North Central States ($473).

North Central

End-of-year travel 2003

• Twenty-eight percent of travelers from the North Central states plan to take a leisure trip during the remainder of 2003 (September through December); 36% will travel over the Christmas holiday, 24% will travel for Thanksgiving, 21% are taking a fall vacation before Thanksgiving, 10% will travel to celebrate New Years.

2003-2004 travel

• Travelers from the North Central states on average are planning to take two extended vacations in September 2003-2004, on par with travelers from the South (2 vacations) and the Northeast (2 vacations), but less than travelers from the West (3 vacations).
• The average extended vacation trip for residents of the North Central states in 2004 will be 7.7 days, slightly less than the national average of 8.1 days.
• Travelers from the North Central states are planning to spend $2,865 on average on long pleasure trips in 2004, lower than any other regions, up from $2,096 they say they plan to spend for 2003 long vacations.
• Forty-three percent will only be traveling in the U.S.; 9% will only travel internationally; 47% will travel both domestically and internationally.
• More than half will visit family or friends (55%), others will seek a camping or outdoors vacation (29%), visit cultural or historical sites (27%), head for the beach (22%), visit a casino (17%), travel to a theme park (15%), go on a cruise (14%), head for a time share property (10%).
• Car travel is part of vacations plans for 62%; 52% will fly.

Long weekends

• Sixty percent of travelers from the North Central states will take both an extended vacation and long weekends. They are planning nearly four weekend getaways on average. They will spend $473 on average for each long weekend, less than weekend travelers in the Northeast ($599), the South ($580), or the West ($520).

South

End-of-year travel 2003

• Twenty-seven percent of travelers from the South plan to take a leisure trip during the remainder of 2003 (September through December); 34% will travel over the Christmas holiday, 27% will travel for Thanksgiving, and 27% are taking a fall vacation before Thanksgiving.

2003-2004 travel

• Southerners, on average, are planning to take slightly more than 2 extended vacations (2.12 vacations on average), more than Northeasterners (1.95 vacations), but less than residents in the North Central states (2.33 vacations), and far less than Westerners (2.76 vacations).
• The average extended vacation trip for Southerners for September 2003 through 2004 is on par with the national average of 8 days.
• Travelers from the South are planning to spend $2,971, on average, on pleasure trips in 2004, up from $2,039 they say they plan to spend for 2003 long vacations.
• Thirty-five percent will only be traveling in the U.S.; 11% will only travel internationally; 54% will travel both domestically and internationally.
• A majority (57%) will visit family and friends, others will head for the beach (31%), visit cultural or historical sites (23%), go on a cruise (20%), travel to a theme park (19%), seek a camping or outdoors vacation (18%), or visit a casino (12%).
• Car travel is part of vacation plans for 66%; 45% will fly.

Long weekends

• Sixty-three percent of Southerners will take both an extended vacation and long weekends. They are planning slightly more than four weekend getaways on average.
• They will spend $580 on average for each long weekend, more than travelers in the West ($520) and the North Central states ($473), but less than those in the Northeast ($599).

West

End-of-year travel 2003

• Thirty-four percent of travelers from the West plan to take a leisure trip during the remainder of 2003 (September through December); 44% will travel over the Christmas holiday, 17% will travel for Thanksgiving, 17% are taking a fall vacation before Thanksgiving, and 10% will travel for a New Year's celebration.

2003-2004 travel

• Westerners, on average, are planning to take three extended vacations on average, more than residents in any other region -- residents in the North Central states, Southerners, and Northeasterners, who are each planning to take two extended vacations.
• The average extended vacation trip for Westerners in 2004 will be 8 days, on par with the national average.
• Travelers from the West plan to spend $2,990, on average, on long pleasure trips in 2004, up from $2,581 they say they plan to spend for 2003 long vacations.
• Thirty-nine percent will only be traveling in the U.S.; 10% will only travel internationally; 49% will travel both domestically and internationally.
• A majority (60%) will visit family and friends, others will seek a camping or outdoors vacation (33%), head for the beach (26%), visit cultural or historical sites (22%), visit a casino (21%), or travel to a theme park (13%).
• Car travel is part of vacation plans for 50%; 65% will fly.

Long weekends

• Sixty-one percent of Westerners will take both an extended vacation and long weekends. They are planning nearly four weekend getaways on average, more than travelers in any other region.
• They will spend $520 on average for each long weekend, more than travelers from the North Central states ($473), but less than those in the Northeast ($599) and the South ($580).

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The regions break out as follows:

• Northeast Region: (ME, VT, NH, MA, RI, CT, NY, PA, NJ)
• North Central Region: (OH, IL, MI, WI, IN, MN, IA, MO, ND, SD, NE, KS)
• South Region: (DE, MD, WV, VA, SC, NC, GA, FL, DC, KY, MS, TN, AL, AR, LA, OK, TX)
• West Region: (MT, WY, ID, NV, UT, CO, AZ, NM, WA, OR, CA)