Honeymoon Trends Survey Reveals Hawaii is Top Dream Honeymoon Spot & August is Premier Month for Travel; MacNair Travel & Cruises Releases Honeymoon Survey Results Assessing Planning, Budget, Activities and Additional Elements Affecting Honeymoon Selection

Business Wire, August 1, 2006

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- MacNair Travel & Cruises/American Express announced today survey results assessing honeymoon trends among brides-to-be. Questions assessing top destinations, planning, budget, desired activities, and other decision-making factors including Hurricane season, were asked among this target market.

Top findings include: Hawaii is the top dream honeymoon destination; August is the top travel month; Monday is most popular departure day; five to seven days is most popular length of honeymoon; and $3,000-$5,000 is most highly noted budget range among respondents.

As with Modern Bride magazine's 2005 Eighth Annual Honeymoon Survey, Hawaii and Tahiti are top honeymoon destinations, according to MacNair Travel's Vacation Manager Skip Fortier.

Fortier says the Honeymoon Trends Survey reveals key insight into this growing market and it is important to understand the engaged couples' honeymoon desires and planning habits.

"Survey results indicate that the engaged couple is planning honeymoon in a shorter time frame and are going for a shorter amount of time than in past trends," Fortier says. "However, the budget for honeymoon travel is still higher than an average vacation."

Reports from The Travel Institute show that honeymoons are an $8 billion industry and the average honeymoon costs $3,719.00, Fortier said. According to the Honeymoon Market Report, the average honeymoon costs 170 percent more than the honeymooner's last vacation - and 300 percent more than the US vacation average.

Honeymoon trends revealed in survey include:

--39.8% of respondents say Hawaii is the top dream honeymoon destination, followed by Tahiti/Bora Bora with 30.1% of those surveyed. Italy is the 3rd most popular honeymoon destination revealed by brides-to-be with a response rate of 23.7%.

--17.2% of survey takers say they are taking a cruise for honeymoon, whereas 82.8% are planning a land-based honeymoon,

--August and October are top two months for departing on honeymoon with 17.2% and 15.1% respectively. June rounds up top three travel months with 12.9% of responses.

--The majority (43%) of respondents are planning honeymoon three to six months prior to departure, whereas nearly 20% are taking six to nine months to plan honeymoon.

--Selecting a honeymoon destination was affected by the Internet (60.2%), Word of Mouth, Family/Friend Recommendation (tied at 48.4%) and a Travel Agent (38.7%).

--Monday is most popular day to depart on honeymoon with 43% of respondents, followed by Sunday with 26.9%.

--Time spent on honeymoon is practically tied between five to seven days (38.7%) and eight to 10 days (36.6%).

--Beach and dining are the top two dream activities brides-to-be are anticipating for honeymoon with 82.8% and 78.5% respectively.

--Additional dream activities listed by survey respondents include couples massage (55.9%), additional spa treatments (54.8%), and shopping (50.5%).

--Overwhelmingly, honeymoons are being paid for from personal savings according to 61.3% of respondents.

--Honeymoon couples are budgeting $3,000--$5,000 for their honeymoons, per 36.6% of respondents, followed by $1,500--$2,999 with 34.4% of responses.

--Hurricane season is not affecting month of travel choice for honeymoon travel, per 75% of respondents. 63% of responses reveal that honeymoon destination was not influenced by hurricane season.

--To plan the honeymoon, the majority of respondents (62.4%) are using a travel agent's services.

100 engaged women completed the survey conducted in July 2006 and 98.9% are planning their honeymoons in the next 12 months.

For more information on MacNair Travel's Honeymoons and Dream Trips, visit www.macnairtravelandcruises.com or email dreamtrips@macnairtravel.com. To request additional Honeymoon Trends Survey results, please email Jennifer@fsrventures.com or call 239-573-0088.

Discover MacNair Travel & Cruises/American Express:

Since 1989, MacNair Travel & Cruises - a privately owned American Express Travel Services Representative - has designed Dream Trips for honeymoon couples, individuals, families and groups. Creating unforgettable escapes for clients, MacNair's Vacation Division has expertise in Luxury Travel, Honeymoons, Italy, Canada, Bermuda, U.S. destinations, Caribbean, around the Globe and other locales. These escapes are Dream Trips that are anything but ordinary vacations. MacNair Travel is an award-winning travel firm widely recognized for its technology innovations, customer service, team excellence and expertise. Visit www.macnairtravelandcruises.com for more information.