A new survey from Ebates, a leader in cash back shopping for retail and travel, profiled the American traveler and, while some findings were to be expected, such as U.S. travelers still loving their road trips, there were some interesting and unexpected findings, too.
The survey found that the great American tradition of road tripping is one of the most beloved types of summer vacations for U.S. travelers.
Fifty-six percent of Americans said summertime was their favorite time to travel and 92 percent said that they would be traveling domestically this year. Road trips beat out all other types of travel with 40 percent of U.S. travelers saying that they would be traveling by car. Taking to the highways beat out traveling by plane (38 percent), traveling by boat (7 percent), hiking (6 percent) and taking the train (5 percent).
For those heading abroad, Italy topped the list with 34 percent of Americans saying that was the destination they would most like to visit. Twenty-four percent said they would like to go to Canada, and another 24 percent said France. Twenty-three percent said they wanted to travel to England and another 23 percent answered Australia. However, 60 percent of the 1,000 Americans surveyed said that they don't travel internationally.
"Our survey shows that this summer is going to be a fun one for the many Americans hitting the highway," said Amit Patel, CEO of Ebates. "Our survey also revealed that the top reason some Americans don't travel is because of cost. Ebates makes it easy to find incredible travel ideas and deals so everyone can enjoy their ideal summer vacation-even on a tight budget."
When it comes to who Americans want to travel with, 61 percent of Millennials answered that they would like to take a family trip, and 51.4 percent of them would like to travel with their best friends.
Romantic trips may be on the decline. Ebate's survey found that romantic trips were shunned by 18.4 percent of Millennials. More than 10 percent of Gen-Xers were not wooed by the idea of a romantic getaway. Baby-boomers were more prone to liking romantic journeys. Just over 8.2 said the thought of one would "make them cringe."
Americans looking for travel inspiration also have different ways of finding it. Millennials are much more likely than other Americans to turn to social media (37 percent), Pinterest (17 percent) and travel bloggers (18 percent).
Many Gen-Xers turn to the television with 28 percent saying they find inspiration from travel shows.
Seniors were more likely to turn to magazines and men were more likely than women to to turn to coworkers and travel agents.
In addition to road trips, Americans love visiting amusement parks and cruises (55 percent), taking trips with friends (42 percent) and going on all-inclusive vacations (40 percent).
U.S. travelers are still apprehensive about solo backpacking trips, adventure excursions and guided tours of a country.
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