by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 9:27 AM ET, Sun December 17, 2017
News, politics and social media are having a significant impact on travel patterns: A new study from Enterprise found that more Americans are planning weekend getaways in 2018 than they did in 2017.
One of the primary reason travelers cited for this decision was to escape the stress of America's current political climate.
Conducted in November among Americans 25 and older, the study found that travelers are also seeking to spend more on such weekend trips and travel further.
The report's highlights include:
-85 percent of respondents said they are planning a weekend trip in 2018, up from 78 percent during 2017.
-When asked why they want to escape, the top reasons were stress (43 percent), news (39 percent), the current political climate (38 percent) and social media (24 percent).
-Respondents who plan to spend $1,000 or more on a weekend getaway doubled in this year's survey compared to 2017.
-93 percent of respondents said they want at least one of their trips to be a true escape, where they leave work and other stressors at home.
Study participants described a "true escape" as a travel opportunity that involves not reading the news or email while away. In addition, one in four respondents said such an escape would also involve staying off of social media.
"Year-over-year we've seen a steady increase in both the number of Americans planning a weekend getaway and how much they anticipate spending on the trip, but this year we got more insight on what is driving them to get away," Steve Short, vice president at Enterprise, said in a statement.
"In past years, respondents wanted to get away to relax. While that's still important, many will be using the weekend trips as a way to get a break from politics, news and work," added Short.
The top weekend getaway choices are evenly divided between beach destinations and major cities, according to the report. However, when it comes to those seeking true escapes, the beach was the clear favorite, followed by the mountains.
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