Fat road wallets - travelers that visit historical sites spend more than other tourists

American Demographics, Jan, 1998 by Matthew J. Cravatta

The last time I visited one of America's premier historical sites--the Civil-War battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania--I thought I was on the AARP Highway. The place was crawling with laid-back seniors in their RVs, and no one was cutting me off in traffic. They may have been cheerful because they're well-off, free-spending, and primed to have fun.

Nearly 54 million adults took a trip in 1997 that included at least one stop at a cultural or historic destination, according to the August 1997 TravelScope Survey, conducted by the Travel Industry Association of America. Historic travelers are defined as those whose itinerary includes a historic place or museum; cultural travelers are those who attend a cultural event or festival.

Historic travelers are bigger spenders than other tourists. They spend an average of $688 per trip, compared with $557 for cultural travelers, $373 for non-historic travelers, and $410 for non-cultural travelers. Historic travelers are almost twice as likely as all tourists to spend more than $1,000 on a trip. Twenty percent do, compared with 11 percent of all travelers and 15 percent of cultural travelers.

One reason historic travelers spend more is because they have more money. Their median household income of $43,500 is above that for all travelers and cultural travelers, at $41,460 and $40,910, respectively.

When historic travelers hit the road, they're ready to have fun. They are more likely than the average traveler to say the primary purpose of their trip is pleasure--73 percent compared with 67 percent. Thirty-three percent say entertainment is the primary goal, compared with 18 percent of all travelers.

For more information, see Profile of Travelers Who Participate in Historic and Cultural Activities, available from American Demographics Books; telephone (800) 8281133. The Travel Industry Association of America continually collects data on travelers and travel trends; telephone (202) 408-8422.