Travel spend: Likes and dislikes

Taxes, baggage and booking fees are the most annoying fees for travellers according to an Expedia.com study released today.
That was just one of many conclusions from Expedia’s 2014 Vacation Spending Index conducted on behalf of Expedia by Northstar, a strategic insights consulting firm that surveyed 11,165 people in 24 countries across five continents.
The study illustrates the marked contrasts in spending habits of travellers across five continents.
Regarding domestic travel spend, Norwegians expect to spend the most, estimating an outlay of 7516.06 Norwegian krone (US$1,256) for transportation, accommodation, food/beverage and activities across a week’s vacation in Norway.
After the Norwegians, residents of Japan, Canada and Australia all expect to spend the most in their home country relative to the 24 countries studied.
Thai travellers anticipate the lowest cost, reporting that a week-long vacation in Thailand should cost them only US$356. That is also good news for the country’s international travellers who can with a little attention to detail get the same costs as Thai travellers.
When traveling overseas, spending expectations or estimates are the highest among the Japanese (US$2,777 per person), Mexicans (US$2,554), New Zealanders (US$2,219) and Brazilians (US$2,212) and the French were the most optimistic surveyed, expecting to spend only US$1,361 when traveling abroad.
Beach vacations are perceived as the most cost-efficient vacation options, by 40% of those polled. 23% saw “historic/cultural sight-seeing” as the most cost-effective, followed by “cruising” (12%) and theme park vacations (7%).
Cruising (39%) is also perceived to be the most luxurious type of vacation. Cruising is followed by health spa/spiritual retreats (13%) and casino vacations (11%) on the list of luxurious holiday options.
57% of travellers believe it is “critically” or “very” important to buy medical insurance when travelling abroad. 6% believe it is “not at all important.”
Roughly the same percentage of travellers find travel insurance to be “critically” or “very” important (55%). 6% report that they find it “not at all important.”
87% of global travellers say they actively look for deals when booking a vacation. 13% do not. Flights are the most actively sought deals, at 49%, followed by:
Special promotions/seasonal sales: 46%
Package deals (booking a flight and hotel simultaneously): 43%
All-inclusive hotels with meal plans: 37%
Hotels with meals included: 33%
Flash sales/last minute deals: 27%
A full analysis of Expedia’s 2014 Vacation Spending Index can be found at http://viewfinder.expedia.com/.
The study was conducted online from 11 March to 2 April 2014, across North America, Europe, South America, Asia and Australia/New Zealand, and surveyed 11,165 adults aged 18 years or older, across 24 countries.

Sourced: ttrweekly