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Travel A Big Issue For Voters Says New Poll
By Craig Altschul
November 20, 2007
Anybody who got hit with a big air delay while traveling during the summer is hardly anxious to climb aboard for winter vacations. How angry are they? Will they take it anymore? Perhaps we will see in the polling both.
Key findings from surveys were released just before Thanksgiving weekend by the Travel Industry Association, National Tour Association, and the Travel Business Roundtable. The survey results make it clear that as many as half of Americans are more likely to vote for a candidate who is addressing travel and tourism.
The surveys, conducted among 300 Republican and 300 Democratic voters in So. Carolina and Florida, showed that 8 of 10 voters in state primaries in both states say "travel is important to their lives and the lives of their families. Nine of ten said travel and tourism is important to their states' economy." There is a plus-or-minus error of 5.66 percent.
Seventy percent of those same voters believe government ought to be able to do far more in reducing wait times, while still maintaining the same level of airport security. A whopping 85 percent believe it is important (or very important) to develop and implement a newer air traffic control system.
Most feel 2008 presidential candidates have not adequately addressed travel and tourism issues. "There is an opportunity for presidential candidates to capture voters' attention by focusing on those issues, especially on the federal government's role in improving our travel system," says Whit Ayres, whose firm conducted the surveys.
Roger Dow, President and CEO of TIA, believes "a large number of voters are looking for a 'travel candidate,' who recognizes that long lines do not make us more secure, and that far more can be done to make the travel experience efficient."
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