Nearly One Third of American Adults Say Nothing Prevents Them From Taking Vacations When They Want

Nearly One Third of American Adults Say Nothing Prevents Them From Taking Vacations When They Want

Orbitz Survey Finds Some Folks 'Don't Think Twice' About Covering Routine Tasks Before Taking a Trip

CHICAGO, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Americans may be known as hard workers, but they should also be thought of as determined travelers. A recent survey from leading online travel company Orbitz, conducted by Harris Interactive(R), found that nearly one-third of U.S. adults will first make sure their work is in order yet won't think twice about finding someone to handle routine tasks before taking vacations or weekend getaways.

The Orbitz survey reported that 30 percent of U.S. adults will let "nothing prevent" them from "taking vacations when they want to." Nearly half (47 percent) of these determined travelers live in the Northeast and Midwest.

When asked for the "barriers or obstacles" in "planning or taking a vacation or a weekend getaway," the top response (28 percent) was "taking care of work schedule(s) or responsibility when away," followed by "arranging for someone to take care of pets" (23 percent). Meanwhile, neither "arranging for someone to take care of my home or apartment" or "setting aside time to make plans or reservations" were major impediments to travel as both were indicated as barriers by only 11 percent of adults.

The survey also revealed another example of how serious we're becoming about our time off. Ninety one percent of employed adults(1) used all of their allotted vacation time or made arrangements to roll it over in 2004.

"American workers are serious about their jobs, but they recognize the need to get-away on a relaxing vacation," said Mike Sands, president, Orbitz, adding "it's actually a great time to take a trip, especially out of the colder regions, with all the mid-winter travel bargains available on Orbitz."

These findings come at a time when online travel continues to grow. More than 10 percent increases in both online travel booking and spending took place last November compared with the same month in 2003, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.

The desire for vacationing also ranked high with U.S. adults when asked for their New Year's Resolutions. The traditional personal promises of "losing weight" and "spending more quality time with family and friends" were most popular at 41 percent and 22 percent, respectively, closely followed by "taking a vacation or multiple vacations" at 21 percent.

Methodology

Harris Interactive(R) fielded the online survey on behalf of Orbitz between January 5-7, 2005, among a nationwide sample of 2,404 U.S. adults (aged 18 and over), of whom 1,526 were employed. The data were weighted to be representative of the total U.S. adult population on the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income, race/ethnicity and propensity to be online.

In theory, with a sample of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the results for the overall sample have a sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Sampling errors for the following sub- samples: employed adults (1,526), and adults in the northeast (546) and Midwest (601) who let nothing prevent them from taking vacations when they want to are higher and vary. This online sample is not a probability sample.

About Orbitz

Orbitz is a leading online travel company that enables travelers to search for and purchase a broad array of travel products, including airline tickets, lodging, rental cars, cruises and vacation packages. Since launching its website, http://www.orbitz.com/ , to the general public in June 2001, Orbitz has become the third largest online travel site based on gross travel bookings. On Orbitz, consumers can search more than 455 airlines, tens of thousands of lodging properties worldwide and 22 car rental companies. Orbitz was acquired by Cendant's Travel Distribution Services division in November 2004, and is part of the Consumer Travel Americas group.

About Harris Interactive(R)

Harris Interactive Inc. ( http://www.harrisinteractive.com/ ), the 15th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world, is a Rochester, N.Y.-based global research company that blends premier strategic consulting with innovative and efficient methods of investigation, analysis and application. Known for The Harris Poll(R) and for pioneering Internet-based research methods, Harris Interactive conducts proprietary and public research to help its clients achieve clear, material and enduring results.

Harris Interactive combines its intellectual capital, databases and technology to advance market leadership through U.S. offices and wholly owned subsidiaries: London-based HI Europe ( http://www.hieurope.com/ ), Paris-based Novatris ( http://www.novatris.com/ ), Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan, through newly acquired WirthlinWorldwide ( http://www.wirthlinworldwide.com/ ), a Reston, Virginia-based research and consultancy firm ranked 25th largest in the world, and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies.

(1) Employed adults include U.S. adults aged 18 and over that are employed

full-time, part-time or self-employed (n=1,526).


Source: Orbitz

CONTACT: Jeanenne Diefendorf, +1-312-894-4986, jdiefendorf@orbitz.com ,
or Kendra Thornton, +1-312-894-4721, kthornton@orbitz.com , both of Orbitz

Web site: http://www.orbitz.com/
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/
http://www.hieurope.com/
http://www.novatris.com/
http://www.wirthlinworldwide.com/


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