More People Are Traveling Off-Peak

The economy may be worrying people, but they seem to be getting away from it — literally. Leisure travel in North America, in particular, picked up and outpaced the rest of the world, according to Pegasus Solutions.

In North America, leisure reservations rose by 7% in September over the previous year, marking a surge in off-peak travel.

“The leisure market’s showing in September evidenced a move towards off-peak travel by consumers,” said Mike Kistner, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions, in a statement. “It’s not a month we usually would expect to see leisure gains, but efforts to make travel dollars go farther by travelling during the traditional ‘off-season’ made bookings jump, especially in North America.

The report also attributed the growth to the fact that businesses are hiring at a greater rate than last year. So even though the global economy is still unstable, there has been increased consumer confidence and more disposable income to put toward trips.

Average daily rates (ADR) are also on the rise. Globally ADR increased by 3%, and in North American the rates are up 5%, which is higher even than August’s 4.8% increase. However, people are not staying for as long when they take trips, which decreased by 0.6%.

The rest of the world’s leisure bookings mostly decreased. For instance, in Europe, the debt crisis has affected leisure travel, which is down 0.5% from the same time last year. Other regions’ decreases can be attributed to consumer caution and exceedingly exceptional gains last year.