According to the latest American Express Spending & Saving Tracker, 61 percent of respondents say they plan to spend more on travel and vacations this year than in 2011.

The online survey was conducted by Echo Research from Dec. 27 to 30, 2011, with results culled from a random sample of 2,000 U.S. adults. In addition to overall results, responses were divided into two sub-groups: Affluent—defined as having a minimum annual household income of $100,000 (562 respondents), and Young Professionals—defined as being younger than 30 year of age, with a college degree and a minimum household income of $50,000 (532 respondents).

Overall respondents deemed travel and vacations their No. 2 category (22 percent) for desired spending in 2012, behind home improvements (23 percent). Just 16 percent chose travel in 2011. Travel was No. 1 within the affluent and young professionals sub-groups, however, up 11 points to 32 percent and eight points to 46 percent, respectively.

Where are people getting the money for their increased travel? While the economic outlook remains uncertain, 35 percent of Americans say they are optimistic about their finances in the year ahead, with savings projected to be nearly three times what they were in 2011—$7,633 vs. $2,632.

Reward points are an important source of travel funds too—54 percent of consumers with leisure travel plans say they will redeem credit card reward points to help pay for travel, with 33 percent doing so for hotels and 31 percent for flights. Between genders, 59 percent of men say they will use points compared to 50 percent of women.

Forty percent of all travelers already have planned their first trip of 2012, with 17 percent having booked. For affluents, 22 percent have booked while 36 percent have completed planning. For young professionals, 17 percent have booked, 53 percent have planned.

Additional leisure-travel findings:

• 50 percent of all Americans plan to travel within the 50 states,
• 22 percent will venture abroad,
• 26 percent of men plan to travel overseas compared to 18 percent of women,
• 41 percent will choose a beach vacation,
• 20 percent will take a cruise, and
• 77 percent will fly to their destination, with 48 percent saying they’ll fly more in 2012 than they did in 2011.

If budget were no issue, 34 percent of overall Americans would choose North America as their destination, while just 26 percent of affluents and young professionals would. One in four overall prefer Europe (25 percent), while 37 percent and 38 percent of affluents and young professionals, respectively, do. Third most popular choice for both overall respondents and the affluent sub-group is Australia (12 percent), while 16 percent of young professionals would take off for Asia and the Pacific.

“The survey suggests good news for the travel industry,” says Claire Bennett, senior vice president and general manager of American Express Travel. “Consumers are planning to invest more in travel and nearly a quarter are setting aside a separate travel budget to help them meet their 2012 travel goals.”

Photo: American Express

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