Americans who include beaches and/or theme and amusement parks on their vacations are a lucrative market.
These travelers tend to take longer vacations and spend more money per trip than overall travelers, according to data from the Travel Industry Association of America’s (TIA) TravelScope® survey. They are also more likely than average to bring their kids along, fly to their destination and rent a car once they arrive.
More than 105 million person-trips were made by U.S. households to the beach last year. A person-trip is one person traveling 50+ miles, one-way, away from home. These beach-going households spent significantly more money on these trips compared the average U.S. trip ($854 vs. $433). More than one-third (36%) of beach trips last seven nights or more. The average beach trip lasts 6.2 nights, compared to 4.1 nights overall.
Americans made 79 million domestic person-trips to theme and amusement parks last year. Theme park travelers spent an average of $839 per trip, excluding transportation to their destination, compared to just $433 on the average U.S. trip. They also included longer overnight stays (5.4 nights) compared to the average U.S. trip (4.1 nights).
Visiting a beach or a theme and amusement park is definitely a family affair. Four in ten (41%) of U.S. households that visit a beach include children under 18 on the trip. It’s even higher for those households visiting theme or amusement parks, with 59 percent bringing along children. By comparison, just over one-quarter (26%) of overall traveling households include children on their trips.
Both beach travelers (20%) and theme and amusement park travelers (21%) are more likely than average (16%) to fly to their destination and to rent a car upon arrival (6% vs. 3%).
TIA is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $600 billion travel industry. TIA's mission is to represent the whole of the U.S. travel industry to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States.
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