Travel and Tourism

1. Travel and Tourism Ray Bradbury – author of the space Travel and colonization classic The Martian Chronicles – once wrote, “Half of the fun of travel is the aesthetic of lostness.” What did Mr. Bradbury mean when he penned this now famous quote? We may never know. Don’t get the wrong idea, of course. We get the part about travel being extra rewarding when people get far off the beaten path into places they didn't even know existed. (Duh.) What civilization will always wonder is this. Did he mean “half” in the general sense, as in give or take a third? Or “half” in the 50% sense, where if he’d meant 51 percent, he’d have said 51 percent? Whatever the math behind Ray’s statistical calculations, one thing we know for sure… People looooooove to travel. Families and individuals of all ages, sizes and incomes. To faraway lands. For weekend getaways. To pursue new business deals. With kids. Without kids. On planes, trains, automobiles, boats and buses. And when it comes to the best corporate discount programs, association member benefits, and membership perks in general, discounted travel is often among the most hotly pursued additions to the mix. Why? Because lots of money AND emotional expectation are wrapped up in most of our travel purchase decisions. So to better understand today’s traveler, we at Access have compiled what we believe is a comprehensive “ultimate collection” of statistics having to do with the travel and tourism industry. We've tried to make this list as relevant as possible, which means we combed through recent research from travel and tourism related sources.