ASTA Releases 2008 Travel Agent Usage and Fee

ASTA announced today that it will release the 2008 Travel Agent Usage and Fee Sensitivity Study for Travel Agent and Premium Members on ASTA.org

ORLANDO, Fl.--(ASTA Press Releases)--

"This study looks at consumers' views of travel agents, the many reasons consumers use travel agents, the service fees they are willing to pay and what percentage would continue using a travel agent if new fees were instituted," said Cheryl Hudak, CTC, ASTA president and CEO. "This kind of information in the hands of our members will help them determine if charging services fees is right for their business, whether they are charging the right amount in service fees and how they can better serve their clients based on gender, income bracket and age."

ASTA, working in conjunction with D.K. Shifflet & Associates, Ltd. (DKS&A) to conduct the survey, polled more than 1,000 consumers, who were at least 18 years old and had used a travel agent within the last five years. Participants were grouped into three age categories: 18-34, 35-54 and 55 and over. Participants were also asked to select a household income bracket: less than $75,000 annually; $75,000-$100,000; $100,000 - $150,000 and $150,000 or more. ASTA's goal was to examine consumers' current attitudes towards travel agents and service fees given the numerous changes the travel industry has experienced in recent years, such as the emergence of online travel Web sites, among others.

One of the most noteworthy findings was that many consumers continue to seek out the counsel of a travel agent when looking for new travel ideas and purchasing travel that involves a more complex itinerary. This study also found that many consumers are willing to pay service fees, but the percentage altered based on gender, income and the travel segment. Knowing this, agencies can implement better marketing techniques that reach the type of consumer inclined to invest in the professional services of a travel agent.

The 2008 ASTA Travel Agent Usage and Price Sensitivity Study was conducted online in March 2008 using e-Rewards' consumer panel; the survey consisted of 16 closed-end questions.

A summary of the study will be available for members on ASTA.org on Monday, Sept. 8. The full report will be available for purchase for $1,499 in The ASTA Store later this fall.

About ASTA: ASTA's (American Society of Travel Agents) mission is to facilitate the business of selling travel through effective representation, shared knowledge and the enhancement of professionalism. ASTA seeks a retail travel marketplace that is profitable, growing and a rewarding place to work, invest and do business.

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Buffalo Area Faces Tourism Hurdle

The Buffalo area faces a big hurdle if it hopes to increase tourism-related employment, says a study released Monday by Global Insight.

--(American City Business Journals, Inc.)--

Tourists stay in Western New York for relatively short periods of time, which means the region must attract an unusually large number of visitors to support each tourism job, according to the study. Global Insight, which is headquartered in Boston, is an economic analysis and forecasting firm. It conducted its tourism study in conjunction with D.K. Shifflet & Associates, a company that monitors travel volumes, visitor spending and trip behavior.

The Buffalo area needs 290 visitors to generate a single job in the tourism and hospitality sector, as estimated by Global Insight. That's the 99th-largest ratio among 100 metros included in the report. The only area with a bigger requirement was Santa Ana, Calif., which needs 300 tourists to sustain a job.

Honolulu enjoys the most favorable ratio in America. Visitors stay long enough and spend enough in Hawaii that it takes only 20 tourists to support a single tourism job.

"Cities with higher average trip spending, longer lengths of stay, higher relative travel costs, and a more diverse local economy will tend to get a greater job 'yield' from its visitors," said the report.

Other tourist destinations with low ratios are Miami (65 tourists per job), Orlando (110), Virginia Beach (115) and Las Vegas (125).

"Residents of destination cities who complain about the summer onslaught of tourists might reconsider if they knew how few of them it takes to create a new job," said Christopher Pike, the tourism principal at Global Insight.

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2008/07/28/daily3.html?t=printable

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Luxury Travel Less Effected by Economy

PORTLAND, Me.

High gas prices may mean fewer families will be headed to the beach or the mountains this summer, but rising prices likely won't be keeping wealthy people from missing out on vacation. Although their stock portfolios may be in decline, wealthy Americans who are less likely to feel the impact of a slowing economy and rising energy and food prices are largely going ahead with their vacation plans even though consumer confidence is at a 16-year low. Households earning $100,000 or more have been taking a larger share of hotel rooms since 2000 and now account for about a third of hotel stays, according to D.K. Shifflet & Associates in McLean, Va. "If you think about the high-income folks in the U.S., the CEOs and others who make a lot of money and have been doing well over the last eight years, they can afford to do that. And they're doing it while they can," said Doug Shifflet, chairman and CEO of the travel research firm. At a country club outside of Portland, about 150 people spent part of a recent sunny day indoors at a "Luxury Explorers' Showcase" to learn about African safaris, tours of the Amazon and Galapagos, private jet charters and even space tourism. Organizer Pamela Hurley-Moser said not all of the attendees were loaded with money, but all had one thing in common: They had no intention of canceling travel.

"There are many people who absolutely can't afford to travel (right now). Then there's a middle range where people are going to scrimp and save in almost every other area in their life so that they can do a trip,"

said Hurley-Moser, owner of Hurley Travel Experts in Portland. The tour operators that made presentations seem to be doing just fine. TCS Expeditions, which offers tours via private jets, is sold out for 2008 and nearly sold out for 2009 even though the standard price for trips like "Wildlife of the World" and "History's Lost Cities" is $64,950 per person, said Melanie Cole, vice president of sales in Seattle.

Guests who're ponying up for a one-of-a-kind experience are well aware of the economic uncertainties facing the U.S., said Martha Wharton, vice president of marketing. "They're very concerned about the economy, the political uncertainties, all of those things, but they're not changing their buying patterns because of it — yet," Wharton said. Likewise, Conservation Corporation Africa is doing well with safaris launched from lodges it owns or operates in Africa and India.

"Certainly the economic events have affected travel. There's no doubt about that. But it has not affected the luxury sector of the market as much as the middle-of-the-road market,"

said James Currie, a former safari guide who now serves as CCA's public ambassador.

Michael and Hedy Cohen listened to Currie's pitch and said they hope to go on an African safari within a year. "It's not cheap. It's probably going to be $10,000 per person," Michael Cohen said.

"If you want to go, you go. That's the way I feel," said Cohen, who's from Cape Elizabeth. "I've worked all my life. I've been fortunate. We've been able to make a few bucks and we like to travel. If I want to go on a trip, then we go."

Houghton and Jennifer Carr of Yarmouth looked into luxury barge canal trips in France because the slower pace suits him better at age 78. He said he and his wife always look carefully and try to use frequent flier miles that they've accumulated.

At this point, they're not ready to give up the trip. "Sure, if the expense skyrocketed we might have to rethink, but we're looking forward to doing it now at this stage," Houghton Carr said. Some tour providers have noticed a change in preferences. Instead of seeking outright opulence, many travelers are now seeking vacations that educate as well as entertain. Travelers are seeking out language immersion programs and cooking schools, for example.

"They want more than tiki torches and umbrellas in their drinks," said Jennifer Reynolds, director of travel agency sales for International Expeditions. "They want substance-driven travel. They're looking at something that has some 'mind candy'."

International Expeditions offers a seven-night Amazon cruise for $3,100, 10 days in the Galapagos for $5,000 and a 15-day tour of Egypt led by a naturalist for $6,500. So far, the Alabama-based company is holding its own, Reynolds said.

British Airways, for its part, is betting that wealthy travelers are still willing to pay for luxury. The airline's new premium affiliate, OpenSkies, began trans-Atlantic service last month with a Boeing 757 with only 82 roomy, leather-clad seats. While it's difficult to quantify, one thing is clear: occupancy rates are higher at the top-tier hotels like Ritz Carlton than at lower-end "economy" chains, said Bobby Bowers of Smith Travel Research in Hendersonville, Tenn. That stands to reason: Those who earn the least are the first ones to cancel their vacations in tough times, and they're more likely to stay in economy hotels.

Higher-end hotels, meanwhile, seem to be holding up better despite a drop-off in corporate travel that began when the economy started to sour. Helping to offset the drop in business travelers is the weak value of the U.S. dollar, which has discouraged Americans from traveling abroad for their vacations while luring Europeans who see travel to the U.S. as a relative bargain, Bowers said. "The fact is there are a ton of luxury hotels that have gone up in the past year, and they don't seem to have too much trouble filling their rooms," said Peter Frank, editor-in-chief of the travel site Concierge.com. All of this could change if the economic slowdown isn't reversed. "High-end is holding its own right now," Shifflet said, "but if the economy doesn't improve some, then it's going to start to see an additional slowdown."

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Domestic Travel to Orlando up 1.8%

--(American City Business Journals, Inc.)--

The number of domestic visitors to Orlando increased 1.8 percent in 2007. The Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau reports that 45.9 million domestic visitors came to Orlando during the year, compared to 45.1 million visitors in 2006. It was the second best domestic travel year since 2005, when 46.6 million people visited Orlando. Orlando CVB President and CEO Gary Sain says the increase was the result of many factors, but he points to the $68 million ad campaign the bureau launched in 2007 as a key component. The bureau has to ensure that Orlando is ever present in the minds of travelers when they are considering where to vacation, he adds.

A look inside the numbers shows that:

• Total leisure travel, which accounts for 77 percent of all domestic visitors, increased from 34.5 million in 2006 to 35.3 million, or an increase of 2.4 percent. Overnight leisure travel was up 3.9 percent to 23.5 million, while day leisure travel was down 0.3 percent to 11.8 million.
• Total business travel to Orlando was down 0.5 percent to 10.57 million compared to 10.62 million in 2006. Overnight business travel was down 2.1 percent to 5.38 million while day business was up 1.2 percent to 5.19 million. Within the overnight travel business, the overnight group meeting numbers were down 4.5 percent to 3.8 million.
• Travel by Florida residents to Orlando was up 2.4 percent to 24.5 million, while travel by non-resident visitors was up 1 percent to 21.4 million.

D.K. Shifflet & Associates Ltd., a travel research firm, provided the numbers to the bureau. Statistics for international visitors traveling to Orlando during 2007 will be released later this summer by the U.S. State Department. The Orlando Convention and Visitors Bureau conducts sales and marketing efforts for the area and is responsible for generating brand awareness, increasing travel to the area and booking conventions and meetings.

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2008/05/19/daily24.html?t=printable

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ACXIOM ads D.K. SHIFFLET & ASSOCIATES survey data, creating more powerful information source for travel marketers

Acxiom and DKSA to Link Data Sources for Modeling, Analysis and Reporting with the PERSONICX(R) Segmentation System, Driving Key Insights into Consumer Travel Behavior.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.--(Business Wire)--

Acxiom(R) Corporation (NASDAQ: ACXM) today announced a new marketing solution that provides travel companies with detailed insights about the buying and travel behaviors of customers and prospects. Acxiom has added D.K. Shifflet & Associates' in-depth travel survey data for the first time to PersonicX, its household-level consumer segmentation suite. This new layer of consumer information enables marketers targeting the consumer travel industry to leverage Acxiom's strengths in segmentation, customer modeling, and consumer analysis to create more customer-centric marketing programs and greater sales results. "Integrating this level of consumer preference and behavior information with PersonicX will allow travel marketers to efficiently target the most likely customers - one of the keys to successfully navigating an economy showing signs of recession," said Greg Hogue, Acxiom's Travel Industry Executive, who was recently elected to the Travel Industry Association board of directors.

Key benefits of the solution for travel marketers include the ability to:

• Use actual travel behavior to better identify and understand those customers providing the largest profit and holding the highest potential.
• Find and develop high value prospective customers that mirror their existing best customers.
• Leverage research to drive targeted prospect list selection.
• Generate detailed reports, analyze competitors' consumer markets and demonstrate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats using PersonicX Classic clusters.

Travel marketers can leverage the combined PersonicX and DKSA data to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their marketing initiatives for even greater return on investment. By understanding the PersonicX Classic clusters most likely to patronize certain hotel chains, engage in specific travel activities, fly airlines based on loyalty or cost, etc., marketers can now concentrate their efforts on better understanding and more effectively communicating with travelers - both customers and prospects. For further insights, this data will also be linked with Acxiom's InfoBase-X(TM), providing in-depth analysis and custom models available from Acxiom's Analytic Consultants. Armed with these two powerful data sources, marketers can allocate their marketing dollars more effectively, spending more where their target market is likely to be - crucial in today's economy.

"Our clients are intent on understanding the consumer markets, and their own customers and prospects, at deeper levels every day. They create a competitive edge by using PersonicX segmentation products to uncover insights into key consumer needs and desires that are actionable and effective,"

said Louis Rolleigh, PersonicX Product Leader, Acxiom Corporation.

"Now that PersonicX is linked to the powerful DKSA travel data, our clients will have unprecedented access to in-depth travel-related insights within each PersonicX cluster, furthering that competitive advantage in the marketplace."

DKSA provides industry-leading market research on travel-related measurement for clients worldwide. With details that provide a complete view of travel behavior such as frequency, purpose, hotel stays, airlines, car rentals, expenditures and more, DKSA provides a premier database on traveler types and brands. Through continuous measurement techniques employed by DKSA, clients can be assured the most accurate and up-to-date view of lodging, transportation and destination activities throughout the United States.

"The combined data asset of Acxiom's PersonicX and our monthly proprietary travel research will provide marketers with detailed intelligence that can be acted on immediately, both strategically and tactically, for increased performance and market share gains,"

said Doug Shifflet, CEO, D.K. Shifflet & Associates.

"We are committed to providing travel marketers with the most complete consumer-based travel information."

About PersonicX Classic: PersonicX Classic is a life-stage based household level segmentation system that places each U.S. household into one of 70 segments and 21 lifestage groups based on specific consumer behavior and demographic characteristics. With the power of Acxiom's InfoBase-X as the underlying data source, PersonicX Classic accurately reflects the current state of the American consumer household and all of their different life stage consumer behaviors. PersonicX Classic helps marketers not only identify their most profitable customers, but also better understand their multi-dimensional aspects. PersonicX fits a wide range of business models, inclusive of those in the travel vertical.

About Acxiom Corporation: Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ: ACXM; www.acxiom.com) integrates data, services and technology to create and deliver customer and information management solutions for many of the largest, most respected companies in the world. The core components of Acxiom's innovative solutions are Customer Data Integration (CDI) technology, data, database services, IT outsourcing, consulting and analytics, and privacy leadership. Founded in 1969, Acxiom is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, with locations throughout the United States and Europe, and in Australia, China and Canada. For more information, please visit www.acxiom.com

About D.K. Shifflet & Associates: D.K. Shifflet & Associates Ltd. is the leading U.S. consumer travel research firm. Located in McLean, Va., DKSA has, for over 25 years, provided the industry's most complete and accurate consumer based travel data on U.S. residents and their travel worldwide. DKSA's DIRECTIONS(R) Travel Intelligence System(SM) contacts over 50,000 U.S. households for detailed travel data each and every month with over 20 years of consumer travel history. The DKSA TRAVEL PERFORMANCE/Monitor(SM )captures visitor profiles, volumes, share, guest satisfaction and value ratings, by purpose, time frame and geography, and benchmarks brand performance for all major accommodations types, hotel chains, airlines, rental cars, cruise lines, credit card companies and destination countries, states and cities. These metrics have become the industry standard. For more information, please visit www.dksa.com

Contact:

Acxiom Corporation, Stacey M. Jones, APR, Public Relations, 501-252-2249, stacey.jones@acxiom.com, GACXM, or

D.K. Shifflet & Associates Ltd., Jim Caldwell, 703-536-0933, jcaldwell@dksa.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS175627+09-Apr-2008+BW20080409

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Summer Vacation is Over

--(American City Business Journals, Inc.)--

Summer is over and the vacation, as we know it, appears to be an endangered species.

"The two-week vacation is pretty much gone,"

David Sheatsley, executive vice president of D.K. Shifflet & Associates Ltd., told a group at a recent meeting held by the Washington Convention & Tourism Corp.

"The one-week vacation is waning and the weekend getaway is gaining."

Nationally, the weekend escape accounted for 51.4 percent of all weekend trips and vacations last year -- a number that has continued to increase since 2003. The trend began before Sept. 11, 2001, and continued to grow because more Americans preferred traveling by car and taking trips closer to home, said Sheatsley, who's McLean, Va.-based organization specializes in travel and tourism research. He said Americans feel they can't afford to take time away from work. Fewer of us plan vacations six months in advance; instead, we get our itineraries together two days out. The quick escape is the name of the game these days. And we're especially fond of hotels or destinations that offer weekend packages. So if you started planning your Labor Day weekend getaway a few days ago, you're likely right on track with the rest of America.

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2007/08/27/daily52.html

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Osceola visitor count up +4.8% for last year

KISSIMMEE, Fl.--(American City Business Journals, Inc.)--

The number of visitors staying in Osceola County last year increased by 4.8 percent, according to newly released figures from the county's convention and visitors bureau. In 2006, the county estimates it had 6,339,000 visitors compared with 6,051,000 in 2005. An increase Tim Hemphill, executive director of the Kissimmee Convention & Visitors Bureau, says is the result of several factors.

"We're seeing an influx of higher-priced (hotel) products such as the units at ChampionsGate and Reunion," he says. "And I'm noticing some churn, with new owners coming in and some nice upgrades along (U.S. Highway) 192."

While the nearly 5 percent increase compares favorably with Visit Florida's estimate for the state during the same period, which showed a 1.2 percent increase, the Kissimmee area won't know until late this year how it compares with Orlando. The Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau is still using figures from 2005. More recent numbers won't be available for at least nine months. That's because the Orlando CVB outsources its data collection and compilation, quite a different process from the Kissimmee system.

"Our method of collecting data is the exact opposite of how Orlando does it,"

says Shelly Maccini, research manager for the Kissimmee Convention & Visitors Bureau. Osceola collects data through several sources and then calculates visitation figures based on a formula that factors a monthly updated rooms inventory; intercept surveys of 10,000 visitors a year to determine the size of the party and length of stay; and proprietary occupancy figures provided by local hotels, short-term rentals, time share properties and other sources, and by Smith Travel Research, a national firm. The 13-year-old method of compiling and calculating data seems far less sophisticated -- and less complicated -- than that used by Orlando. It's also much faster, meaning the Kissimmee CVB can make more timely adjustments when things are working or not working. Hemphill says it works fine, and Maccini calls it the best way she knows. In fact, she laughingly says, "The only better way would be to put turnstiles on all the roads leading into the county." The Orlando CVB has used D.K. Shifflet & Associates Ltd., a Falls Church, Va., research firm that specializes in travel industry data, for more than a decade. Daryl Cronk, the bureau's research manager, says Shifflet conducts its Orlando research by using information collected monthly from a large, voluntary panel of Americans who are queried about all travel taken. The panel is weighted before the survey to reflect national averages and weighted again after to ensure a statistically significant segment is included. Cronk says using Shifflet allows the bureau to compare apples to apples, since Orlando's competitive markets such as New York, Las Vegas and Chicago all use the same methodology.

"Every CVB has slightly different methods," says Cronk, "and so it isn't always a fair comparison."

The Orlando figures include Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties, since many visitors don't differentiate between Orlando and the outlying areas. In fact, says Kissimmee's Maccini, Shifflet couldn't break out data for them, since it can't be sure how many of those surveyed said Orlando and stayed elsewhere. In the end, Cronk says, Orlando really doesn't have the option of counting visitors the ways Kissimmee does. "Logistics and cost are huge factors," he says. While Kissimmee has a small area to survey, he says Orlando's surveys would stretch from Lake Mary to Lake Buena Vista, an expensive proposition "and a logistical nightmare."

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2007/02/26/story8.html

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