• May 30, 2008

Over 70% of U.S. families plan to travel once school is out this summer, and 75% of those plan to make an online reservation for a rental car, air travel or lodging, according to a survey sponsored by AOL's Platform-A ADlytics group. The survey also found that nearly two-thirds of families have yet to book their summer travel.

The survey of 1,000 families with school-age children found that these families plan to spend at least $1,000 on a one-week vacation in July. The most common destinations are theme parks (30%), family visits (27%), road trips (22%), camping trips (21%) and other U.S. destinations (19%). Despite the high price of gas, 71% will travel by car because they find it more affordable than flying.

The study also found that 74% of families rely on the Internet for vacation planning, followed by friends and family (47%) and travel books (21%). Of the Web-savvy consumers, 72% browse search engines, 58% go to online booking sites, 26% visit consumer testimonial sites, and 19% browse travel information sites.

Platform-A's ADlytics group collaborated with OTX, a global consumer research and consulting firm, to conduct this survey. OTX gathered data from a sample of 1,000 families with school-age children (age 6-17). Interviews were collected from April 10-14 to assess what American families have in mind for summer travel.

--Gavin O'Malley