Travel Frustrations Lead to Travel Avoidance June 12, 2008 Travel Industry Association Research: 41 Million Trips Avoided This Year
By Alex Palmer
The news isn't getting any better for the airline industry. Frustrations with the airline industry spurred air travelers to avoid 41 million trips in the past year, according to a report by the Travel Industry Association (TIA), a Washington D.C.-based non-profit trade organization that represents and speaks for the travel industry. According to the research, which was conducted by polling firms Peter D. Hart Research Associates and The Winston Group, this trip avoidance has cost the U.S. economy $26 billion. Additionally it reports that more than 60 percent of respondents believe the air travel system is deteriorating and more than 50 percent of say that they do not expect the air travel system to improve in the near future.
Roger Dow, president and CEO of TIA, sees this as a cause for action by the travel industry. He says this report, "should be a wake up call to America's policy leaders that the time for meaningful air system reform is now."
Airline delays, cancellations and inefficient security screenings were the aspects of flight that travelers found most irritating, according to the research. Dow also points to the wider implications of this kind of trip avoidance: besides the $9 billion in revenue lost by the airlines, hotels reportedly lost nearly $6 billion and restaurants more than $3 billion. The $26 billion also includes $4 billion that federal, state and local governments lost in tax revenue due to the spending decrease by travelers.
"A majority of travelers thought that air travel safety was getting better and a majority thought the security was improving as well," says David Winston, president of The Winston Group. "But there are clear frustrations around efficiency and reliability, which are contributing to travelers avoiding air travel."
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