A session at the Annual Airport Planning Design and Construction Symposium held in Salt Lake City last year and hosted by the Airport Consultant Council and the American Association of Airport Executives looked at tomorrow’s travelers and offered the following:
- Airline travel is about 18 percent of all travel in the U.S. Several years ago, it was 22 percent. So, as a percentage of all travel, despite ongoing projected growth for the carriers, air travel is a declining percentage.
- International travel to the U.S. accounts for 12 percent of the total. However, international travelers account for 20 percent of dollars spent. A major complaint of travelers to the U.S.: They can’t easily exchange their currency into dollars.
- Fastest growing segment is international inbound travelers to the U.S.
- The growing influence of women on travel: From 1990- 2000, women in the labor force will grow by 10 million.
- For the first time ever, in the late 1997, weekend travel exceeded weekday travel. One result: A call for quick turnarounds.
- Fifty percent of U.S. adults take three or more trips per year. One implication: They are more sophisticated travelers.
- By 2002, Internet usage for travel purposes is projected to increase tenfold.
- Ticketless travel is about 15 percent of the total today. Most comes from leisure travelers – as much as 80 percent of the total on weekends.
- Most popular activity of travelers: shopping. This factor, combined with the trend by U.S. airlines to allow less carry-on baggage, signals a call for airports to offer some type of guaranteed delivery service.
- By 2020, the population will be much older. Its demographics will read:
– Age 18- 34 3 million more than today
– Age 35- 54 400,000 more than today
– Age 55 and over 6 million more than today
This will result in a higher percentage of people who will need assistance while traveling. A serious consideration: The impact of ADA facilities.
- Through 2001, business travel will grow by more than four percent per year. Pleasure travel during this time will average a 1.9 percent increase. The reason for the latter: High consumer debt.
Source: Airport Business, 1998.
