This report provides travel, tourism, location-based content, mapping and navigation organizations with the data they need to better understand the travel behavior of this increasingly important segment of the marketplace.  From planning and booking tools to hotel preferences, this study provides comprehensive information for addressing these travelers’ needs increasing your market share, and increasing travel spend.

This study has both a consumer and industry component, to provide readers with a comprehensive view of the drive market and how industry is responding.

Component  I – Consumer Survey

This is an online survey with 1,000 consumers who have taken one or more leisure trips 50+ miles from home OR requiring an overnight stay in the past 12 months.  Some component of the trip included a car.  The survey is a nationally representative sampling of adults 18 years or older.

The general areas of study in the consumer survey includes:

• Planning behavior, including websites, blogs, photos/videos, other social media, as well as offline tools, such as maps, guidebooks, etc.;
• Frequency of trips with air as the primary mode of transportation, but with a drive component on the destination end;
• Use of mapping, content, online travel sites, ticketing sites, etc.;
• Booking behavior; channel choice and preferences, plus booking window by length of trip;
• Satisfaction with planning and booking tools; are they meeting travelers’ needs?;
• Destination preferences for drive trips;
• Preferences that vary by type of trip and mode of transportation;
• Use of mobile devices, including GPS and smartphone;
• Hotel brand preference;
• Vacation rental ownership and usage;
• Responsiveness to various offers and discounts;
• Demographics; with a section focused on the differences for the 50+ market
• Overall economic value of the drive market

Component  II –  Industry Survey
This component of the research will include online surveys among executives from a wide range of segments of the travel industry.

This component of the research provides insight into:

• Marketing and advertising strategies they use to reach the drive market;
• Their assessment of the success of their strategies;
• Online tools they have used to reach this market;
• Their assessment of the value of the drive market to their business.