America prepares for Memorial Day getaway

(AFP PHOTO LLUIS GENE.)

A fifth of Americans will be on the move this weekend, according to a new survey from travel review site TripAdvisor.

The study, which polled 2,300 Americans, suggests that this will be the biggest holiday of the summer, with over a quarter (26 percent) planning to spend the holiday visiting family and friends at home.

This represents a slight uptick on the number of travelers last year, when when 18 percent planned to hit the road or take to the skies.

Nearly a third of travelers (31 percent) plan to spend more on summer travel this year, said TripAdvisor, while 42 percent will spend the same amount as last year.

An overwhelming 82 percent of those surveyed said that their Memorial Day travel plans will not be affected by the economy, and nearly half (49 percent) said the economy does not affect their summer travel plans overall.

In terms of destinations, the majority - 53 percent - would be heading for a city, whilst 45 percent were planning on going to the coast.

62 percent of travelers said that they would be spreading their wings and traveling somewhere new this summer.

TripAdvisor's positive sentiment was echoed May 25 by new statistics released by STR Global, which suggest that US hotel occupancy in April was up slightly against the same time last year.

http://www.tripadvisor.com