ORLANDO -- Group travel -- or at least vacationing with extended
family and friends -- is hot and getting hotter, according to a
survey from public relations firm Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown &
Russell.
Nearly 80% of active leisure travelers took at least one
vacation in the last five years with extended family, other
families and assorted friends, a YPB&R poll in August of 1,655
active leisure travelers found.
And the numbers are trending upward.
Some 69% (compared with 57% in 2000) of respondents cited "spend
time with family" as very important or extremely important in 2003
when selecting a vacation.
YPB&R said 54% (versus 43% three years ago) chose "spend
time with friends" as extremely or very important in choosing a
vacation.
Some 40% of adults organized group dining excursions and a
similar amount put together group-recreational events this year,
the poll found.
"The survey data clearly support this [the popularity of group
travel]: fully 37% of adults told us they were planning to take
more of such trips in the years ahead," said YPB&R research
director Dennis Marzella.