Getting ready to plan and execute the family vacation for the summer of 2019? It may mean fewer hours of waiting in lines at airports and more time seeing the world go by out the window of the family auto.
There is a trend toward getting away from expensive and stressful air travel to hit the open road. According to the NY Post, “the average American would happily add six and a half hours onto their traveling time if it meant they could avoid the airport and road trip to their destination instead.” According to new independent research, that was commissioned by Ford Motor Company, between planes trains and automobile Americans prefer travel by plane the least.
More of us are planning to road trip this summer. In fact, 63 percent of Americans say they would actually look forward to a trip more if they were road tripping.
“Millennials came of age in a time when air travel was democratizing. They were known as the globe-trotting generation, but now we’re seeing a shift. Many of them are choosing to stay closer to home, taking family road trips instead and reliving their childhood for their kids, something we call the #RoadTripRewind,” said Sheryl Connelly, chief futurist for Ford Motor Company.
“Today’s vehicles offer many of the creature comforts of home so this means road tripping is no longer an either/or proposition,” adds Connelly. “The pastime of exploring the open road now comes with the option to stay digitally connected. You can optimize your route, entertain your kids and discover stops along the way with little effort, making the trip more enjoyable.”
With family vacations happening domestically that means fewer trip internationally. It’s a good thing that we have so much to see here in the good ol’ USA.
Top 15 things to do on America’s travel bucket list
| See the Grand Canyon | 36% |
| Visit Yellowstone National Park | 35% |
| See Niagara Falls | 34% |
| Go to Las Vegas | 31% |
| See Mt. Rushmore | 27% |
| Go to Redwood National Park | 27% |
| Attend Mardi Gras | 26% |
| Drive the Pacific Coast Highway | 25% |
| See the fall foliage in New England | 22% |
| Drive from Miami to Key West | 22% |
| See Cape Cod | 22% |
| See a Broadway show in New York City | 21% |
| Walk along Venice Beach and the Santa Monica pier | 21% |
| Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge | 21% |
| Eat a cheesesteak in Philadelphia | 20% |