Tripology, Rand McNally’s online travel referral service, announced findings from its newly published Third Quarter Travel Trend Report. When compared with last year’s Third Quarter Trend Report, some of the findings indicate that consumers are spending more time planning their winter trips (they are planning their vacations farther out) as well as spending more money on their winter and holiday vacations (compared with the average trip budgets reported in the summer and fall).

According to the Third Quarter Travel Trend report, the top five most requested countries since January 2011 have been: United States, Mexico, Italy, Bahamas and Jamaica. The top five most requested cities are Las Vegas, Orlando, Cancun, Miami and Honolulu.

The average consumer travel budget has risen to $5,710 per trip, representing a steady increase from the first quarter 2011, when the average consumer trip budget was $5,239 per trip. The average consumer trip budget during the winter travel season also increased considerably last year, rising from $4,784 in the first quarter to approximately $5,663 per trip in the third quarter.

The number of days until trip departure (the amount of time between quote request and beginning of trip) increased to 130 days. This was similar to the trend in the third quarter of 2010, indicating that consumers tend to spend more time planning their vacations and plan their trips farther out during the winter and holiday travel period. The most popular winter trip length is between three and four days, the second most popular trip length is between four and five days, and the third is a trip between seven and eight days. More than 76 percent of travelers’ requests were for a trip duration of fewer than eight days, which was similar to last year’s findings

 “Overall our Third Quarter Trend Report reveals a positive outlook for the winter travel season, as consumers continue to increase their trip budgets as well as their advanced planning of trips during this time of the year,” said John Peters, vice president and general manager of digital strategy and travel for Rand McNally. “Because these trends show that consumers are spending more money and time planning their winter vacations compared to the summer and fall months, it also suggests that a greater number of consumers are currently seeking out the expertise and services of travel professionals to help them maximize their winter trip budgets and plan truly memorable vacations that they are willing to spend a little extra money on.”

In addition, the Tripology Trend Report revealed the following stats: The demand for travel to Asia increased each month during the third quarter of 2011; Paris and Rome show enduring popularity for travelers to Western Europe; Punta Cana is the most requested Caribbean winter travel destination; the top 10 most requested U.S. cities are: Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami, Honolulu, Maui, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, New Orleans and Boston. To receive the complete findings of the most recent Trend Report, send a request via email to press@tripology.com or direct message @Tripology on Twitter. For more information on Tripology, visit www.tripology.com.