"The ASTA/Fodor’s Summer Hot Spots Survey results demonstrate that Americans are taking advantage of the good economy to go out and literally see the world," said ASTA President and CEO Mike Spinelli. "In fact, through April of this year, travel agency sales reported through the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) were seven percent higher than last year." Spinelli said that this year’s total sales were at $24.831 billion vs. $23.262 billion at this time a year ago. "It’s going to be an incredible summer travel season with Americans traveling in record numbers, both domestically and abroad," said Bonnie Ammer, president and publisher of Fodor’s Travel Publications, Inc. Finally, the ASTA/Fodor’s Summer Hot Spots Survey found that when the ASTA travel agents were asked, "How long is the average leisure trip booked through your agency?," the overwhelming number of bookings are for trips of under one week (72.8% said one to seven days); however, the average number of days amounted to 7.75 days. Of those who said they booked trips of over one week in duration, 26.1% said 8-14 days; .8% said 15-21 days; and a mere .4% said more than 21 days. "If you haven’t already booked your summer vacation, we advise you to do so at once because seating capacity on airplanes and room availability in hotels and on cruise ships is tighter than ever," Spinelli said. The ASTA/Fodor’s Annual Summer Hot Spots Survey was conducted among 524 of the ASTA Research Family, a representative sample of ASTA’s travel agency membership, from March 30-April 20, 1998. As the travelers’ advocate, the American Society of Travel Agents is the world’s largest travel trade association with over 27,000 members in more than 170 countries.
