American Vacation Spending Still in the Dumps, Survey Says; Consolidated Credit Counseling Poll Finds Economy, War, SARS The Reasons.Lifestyle Editors/Business Editors/Travel Writers FORT LAUDERDALE Fort Lauderdale (lô`dərdāl), residential, commercial, and resort city (1990 pop. 149,377), seat of Broward co., SE Fla., on the Atlantic coast; settled around a fort built (c.1837) in the Seminole War, inc. 1911. , Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 24, 2003 The triple whammy wham·my n. pl. wham·mies Slang 1. A supernatural spell for subduing an adversary; a hex: put the whammy on someone. 2. of economic worries, fear of SARS and uncertainty over Iraq will keep more Americans closer to home and spending less this year, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a new survey by Consolidated Credit Counseling Credit counseling (known in the United Kingdom as debt counselling) is a process offering education to consumers about how to avoid incurring debts that cannot be repaid. This process is actually more debt counseling than a function of credit education. Services, Inc. In a sampling of approximately 2,700 Americans following the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. entry into Baghdad, the overwhelming sentiment was the future is still too uncertain to return to lavish vacation habits. Nearly 80% of those polled said they would travel within the Continental United States United States territory, including the adjacent territorial waters, located within North America between Canada and Mexico. Also called CONUS. , rather than risk overseas destinations. The most popular destinations were also within 1,000 miles from home, according to the poll. "These are not normal times and people don't have either the money or the desire to spend their leisure dollars except in a safe way," said Howard Dvorkin, president of Consolidated. The poll is bad news for the already struggling airlines, but it's also bad for the hospitality industry. The survey revealed that of those planning any getaway at all, nearly half will be visiting friends or family -- and they'll make the trip in their own car. Those polled said they would spend on average less than $2,000 on the entire vacation, down from an average of $2,250 in 2002 and $2,375 in 2001. The most popular vacation destination is friends and family (45%), followed by sightseeing (23%) and theme parks (11%). Dvorkin said the prolonged pro·long tr.v. pro·longed, pro·long·ing, pro·longs 1. To lengthen in duration; protract. 2. To lengthen in extent. economic downturn is mostly to blame. "When someone has been out of work and has had to eat into savings to pay for necessities, leisure spending will suffer," he said. Even among those who will leave the family car at home, the average vacation won't be taking them far. Of those who said they would fly, 75% said it would be within the United States. One aspect of vacationing remains the same, however. 48% said they travel in July, still the most popular month. Another 37% will travel in August. Consolidated Credit Counseling Services, Inc. is a 12-year old company that assists families throughout the United States in ending financial hardships through education and professional counseling. For more money-saving information, go to http://www.debttfree.org. |
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