Who will you bring on your next cruise? Carnival Cruise Line and the University of Florida conducted a study into what is important for Americans when they travel. And rather than the destination, it turns out the company is of far greater importance than a tropical beach or a quiet campsite.
Americans place far more importance on spending time with loved ones, creating memories, and being away with family members, a significant other, or friends.
The study was conducted by investigating how and with which words people talk about taking vacation online.
With Rather Than Where
When discussing holidays and vacations online, Americans tend to talk more about who they’ll go with rather than where they will go. While the sentiment in the past was on the material, such as booking a vacation to a tropical beach, buying a campervan, or visiting historical sites around the world, this has shifted significantly.
In a social listening study of 21.3 million online uses of key travel terms, the University of Florida and Carnival Cruise Line found that travelers are more engaged in who they travel with than where.
20% of summer vacation mentions include doing everything together and spending quality time with loved ones, whether family members, a significant other, or friends.
Dr. Rachel Fu, Chair of the Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management at the University of Florida: “What we perceived anecdotally has been confirmed by a dive into the language that Americans are using around travel. Americans’ ideal destination for summer travel can now best be summed up as “anywhere and everywhere,” with few expressing enthusiasm for specific locations, and instead committing to bringing besties, significant others, and family along to wherever.”
Only one in ten mentions of summer vacations include the terms tropical, sunny, or beach. Other factors that play into this are the terms away-cation and stay-cation.
Also Read: Full Carnival Cruise Line Fleet Back in Service
While the stay-cation has been a staple for the last two years, people are now longing for an away-cation. And that is where Carnival Cruise Line comes in, says company President Christine Duffy.
We Bring Loved Ones Together
Although the destination might not matter so much anymore, traveling itself is more popular than ever, with millions and millions of people eager to get out of the house for a well-deserved break. Confidence to travel has increased 58% since January 2022, with many turning to the cruise lines for that away-cation:
“Bringing loved ones together for a fun-filled, stress-free vacation is what we do, so we are happy to find that today’s traveler is craving just that,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
“On a Carnival cruise, we take care of all of the details – transportation, dining, entertainment, and much more – so that our guests can focus on what’s really important – quality time with those they love.“
The 2022 summer travel season will likely meet and exceed pre-pandemic levels, and with Carnival’s fleet back at full strength, the company is more than ready for the challenge.
Although problems with crewing the ships have come up in the past weeks, Carnival will still increase capacity onboard to accommodate all those eager travelers.
“From bucket list vacations and long weekend getaways to milestone celebrations and multi-generational reunions, our cruises are about creating memorable vacations together. We are as eager to continue welcoming our guests back on board throughout the summer as they are to sail.” Duffy continued.
In fact, in the last months, it has become more and more apparent that many travelers consider cruising one of the safest ways to spend time together with family and friends.
Carnival Cruise Line, which celebrated its 50th birthday this year, has been developing a high standard of measures that have proven successful in countering any significant outbreaks, with only a relatively few cases.
It’s those strict guidelines that have brought the confidence back into the industry and which have given more than two million people the belief that Carnival’s ships are the safest place to spend their summer vacations. Carnival is currently sailing from 13 US homeports and will add the 14th, New York City, in June.
