Poll: Fewer Americans Vacationing This Summer

Among those saying the economy is keeping them home, Tonya Severine of Bladenboro, N.C., said her husband "works construction and there's nothing going on right now." With three children, a vacation is not feasible, but she hopes to spend time outside with the kids, even if it means "staying in the backyard."

Jon-Paul Juette, a 2008 graduate of Pepperdine University living in Los Angeles, says he has to "keep looking for a job in order to stay afloat. Taking a vacation isn't possible." He has a degree in advertising and art history, and his dream is to work in entertainment advertising, but he says he'll "do anything from graphic design to branding to media planning." He's doing odd jobs meanwhile to avoid moving back home.

Nancy Saaranen of Saginaw, Mich., and her husband are also staying home this summer, but they traveled to Arizona in March, visiting everything from the Grand Canyon to Sedona, "so we used up our vacation allotment for the year." Besides, she added, "we're both retired, and the grandkids have softball through July," so they hope to enjoy watching lots of games outdoors.

Among those who will be traveling, Betsy Skipp, a children's advocacy volunteer who lives in Miami, said she intends to get to the Caribbean. "We live in Miami and we need to get out every now and then," she said.

Susan Jewell, who works as a personal assistant and studies business administration at Southwestern College in Paradise Valley, Ariz., said she'll be vacationing in California. "Usually the summer is very busy for me, but I am going to San Diego to check it out and hang out with my sister," she said. "It's just something we decided to do, spur of the moment."

Woodside, the marketing professor, said "actions by marketers" could counteract the drop in leisure travel with "innovative travel packaging." One area where he predicts growth in 2010 and 2011 is in tours offering "must-do-in-this-lifetime-experiences with an unbeatable low price" designed to attract "independent travelers — many of whom hate (conventional) packaged tours."