A recent survey by MMGY Global reveals that Americans intend to travel more in the upcoming year and spend more of their discretionary budget on vacationing. Eighteen percent of Americans plan to take more trips in the year ahead, up 3 percent from last year, indicating that Americans prioritize travel in their spending. The 2013 Portrait of American Travelers survey polled 2,511 active leisure travelers for the study, which also revealed a decline in visiting popular domestic destinations and a total decline of 10 percent fewer destinations than in 2012. More and more travelers are relying on technology to fuel insight and inform vacation choices: travel price comparison websites are on the rise with 28 percent of travelers using the sites to make travel reservations. Smartphone usage has tripled since 2010 for travelers, with 36 percent using related applications in 2013. Despite the surge in Smartphone usage, friend and family recommendations still holds sway with a whopping 82 percent of travelers relying on word-of-mouth recs, although 58 percent still use online sites such as TripAdvisor.

For more information, visit MMGY Global