DES MOINES, Iowa–A new survey conducted by the Iowa Credit Union League (ICUL) of more than 1,100 CU members and consumers throughout the state has found that 40% of Iowans are planning on taking the same amount of time off, traveling the same distances and using the same types of transportation for their summer vacation as years past.
Ten percent of respondents plan on traveling a greater distance than years past and 9% plan on taking more vacation time, the ICUL reported.
The U.S. Travel Association estimates that many of the Iowans who have summer vacation plans are likely to travel domestically. This summer, 1.7 million Americans will travel domestically for leisure in 2015, a 1.6 percent increase over 2014. That trend is expected to continue through 2017.
Often finances contribute to the decision to opt out of taking vacation time. If that’s an issue, Andrea Dose, Member Outreach Coordinator at ICUL, suggests seeking assistance from a credit union.
“Many times members borrow for vacation and I encourage them to keep the term to 12 months,” Dose said. “Some members choose to finance vacations for longer than 12 months and a year goes by and they still have the vacation loan – and now they want to finance another vacation. Setting the term to a year ensures the loan is paid off prior to the next vacation.”