Staycations Survey: Staycations Almost as Popular as Vacations

Travel can be an expensive hobby. But you don’t have to travel across oceans or even across state lines to enjoy some of the most popular aspects of travel. Staycations, or vacations that people can take without leaving their general area, are gaining popularity. According to Think with Google, searches for staycation ideas have increased significantly in recent years. So how many consumers are interested in taking their own staycations? We asked 1,000 respondents about their thoughts on travel and staycations.

Staycations

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 36% of respondents said that they’ve been on staycations many times. 13% have been on one staycation before. 32% said they’ve never taken a staycation. And 19% weren’t even sure what a staycation was. Looking forward, 41% of respondents said they are at least somewhat likely to take a staycation at some point in the next year.Of those who have taken staycations, 67% said that they did so because they wanted to save money. 33% said they didn’t have time for a full vacation. 25% said they just wanted to explore their own community. And 13% have taken staycations as a way to support local businesses.

Popular Attractions

Of those who have already taken staycations, 56% said that they visited restaurants or bars during their staycations. 51% said they visited local parks. 45% have have visited local shops. 44% have visited museums. And 31% have visited hotels or resorts during their staycations. And of those who are likely to take a staycation within the next year, 62% said they are likely to visit restaurants or bars in their area. 55% plan to visit local parks. 52% plan to visit local shops on their next staycation. 46% are likely to visit museums. And 34% plan to visit local hotels and resorts.

Vacation Habits

Alternatively, 47% of respondents said they are at least somewhat likely to take a regular vacation within the next year. And of those respondents, 65% said they are likely to go to restaurants or bars on their next vacation. 55% said they’re likely to visit shops. 53% plan on going to hotels or resorts. 52% are likely to visit parks on their next vacation. And 40% plan on visiting museums.

Key Takeaways

Staycations are likely to be nearly as popular as regular vacations this year. So it could be worthwhile for businesses like restaurants, shops and museums to encourage the members of their local community to take staycations, as well as marketing to tourists from other areas. In fact, a lot of the same types of attractions that are popular with travelers are also popular with staycationers. So businesses could use very similar tactics to market to staycationers. And it could even be beneficial for businesses like restaurants, shops, resorts and museums to team up to target local staycationers with marketing campaigns, just as businesses in tourist destinations often do to target travelers. You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Staycation Day 1 by Francine Mastini under CC BY 2.0What do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.

Results were collected on November 4-7 via AYTM’s online survey panel.