Inclusivity in Travel Series
Portrait of Family Travel™: Autism, ADHD and Neurodiversity
For families with neurodiverse children, travel can involve unique complexities and challenges. Hotels, airlines and destinations can be unfamiliar, overwhelming and overstimulating, and these families may have unique needs and desires. By highlighting the most relevant concerns, considerations and priorities of these travelers, this study seeks to create awareness of the challenges that exist, advocate for understanding and change, and provide information on how to make travel experiences more inclusive for this audience.
MMGY will be donating all proceeds from sales of the report to Camp Encourage, a nonprofit organization dedicated providing campers on the autism spectrum a way to build self-esteem, skills of independence and self-understanding.
About the Portrait of Family Travel™: Autism, ADHD and Neurodiversity:
Part of its ongoing research series examining underrepresented travelers, MMGY’s Portrait of Family Travel™: Autism, ADHD and Neurodiversity is based on interviews with a sample of 1,000 U.S. family travelers with children who experience a form of neurodiversity, including but not limited to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The survey was fielded Feb. 1–20, 2024. To qualify for the survey, respondents had to be over 18 years of age and have children under 18 who experience one or more forms of neurodiversity.
Portrait of LGBTQ+ Travelers in America
Portrait of LGBTQ+ Travelers in America™ is a comprehensive study into this group’s travel behaviors, sentiments and attitudes. The research sampled more than 3,000 American LGBTQ+ travelers and was devised with input from a steering committee of professionals from LGBTQ+ organizations focused on travel, tourism and empowerment of the LGBTQ+ community.
This report was conducted in two phases. Data for Phase 1: A DK Shifflet Profile of LGBTQ+ Travelers was gathered from Shifflet’s 2021 TRAVEL PERFORMANCE/MonitorSM, which sampled 42,790 U.S. travelers, including 2,342 LGBTQ+ travelers. For the purposes of the study, LGBTQ+ was defined as respondents who identify as a sexuality other than heterosexual and/or a gender other than male or female. Data from Phase 2: A Custom Study of LGBTQ+ Travel, Motivations and Barriers was based on a sample of 1,050 U.S. LGBTQ+ travelers collected online in November 2022. Survey respondents identified as a sexuality other than heterosexual and/or a gender other than male or female.
MMGY and its supporting sponsors – Destination Cleveland, Discover Puerto Rico, Hilton, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, NYC & Company, Travel Oregon and Tripadvisor – are proud to share that MMGY will donate 100% of its total profits from sales of the report to non-profit study partner Travel Unity.
Travel Unity’s mission is to make the world of travel welcoming to people of all backgrounds and abilities.
Portrait of Travelers with Disabilities™: Mobility and Accessibility
Portrait of Travelers with Disabilities™: Mobility and Accessibility, should act as a call to action for every industry so they can better understand and meet the needs of the millions of people who use mobility aids, as well as their traveling companions. The survey found lodging and transportation accessibility are cited as the two biggest barriers to travel for those with mobility issues. Nearly all respondents (96%) say they have faced an accommodation problem while traveling, while 86% have experienced flight problems and 79% have experienced in-market transportation problems.
Portrait of Travelers with Disabilities™: Mobility and Accessibility is based on a survey sample of 2,789 respondents, of which 2,375 have a disability and use a mobility aid, 1,761 have traveled in the past 12 months, and 414 respondents identified as caregivers or companions of someone with a mobility impairment. Data were collected from June 3 through June 21, 2022. All respondents were U.S. residents and a minimum of 18 years of age.
The survey was developed by MMGY’s research and insights operating brand, MMGY Travel Intelligence, with the guidance of a steering committee composed of disability advocates, senior business leaders from companies that primarily serve those with mobility disabilities, destination marketing organizations, and other travel and tourism professionals. MMGY thanks the report’s sponsors for their support of this study: NYC & Company, Pure Michigan, Tripadvisor, Visit California, Visit Colorado Springs and Visit Mesa. To learn more and purchase the full report, visit this link or go to mmgyintel.com.
MMGY and its supporting sponsors–NYC & Company, Pure Michigan, Tripadvisor, Visit California, Visit Colorado Springs and Visit Mesa–are proud to share that 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the report will benefit United Spinal Association.
United Spinal is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for all Americans with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D).
Vistas Latinas
Vistas Latinas: A Landmark Study on U.S. Travelers of Hispanic Descent by MMGY Travel Intelligence is the second in a series of market research studies to be informed by diverse travel advocacy organizations to better identify the needs, behaviors and sentiment of underrepresented travel communities. The study, whose name means Latin viewpoints, is the first travel research of its kind to examine the attitudes, opinions and sentiment of travelers from the United States’ fastest growing demographic group and follows MMGY’s release of The Black Traveler: Insights, Opportunities & Priorities report earlier this year. Vistas Latinas is also the first study to assess the spending power of U.S. Hispanic travelers, finding they spent $113.9 billion on domestic leisure travel in 2019 and accounted for 13% of all domestic leisure travel that year.
The Vistas Latinas study was created to provide a better understanding of the diverse and growing Hispanic population in the U.S., which according to the 2020 Census is now 62.1 million strong. The study analyzed findings from MMGY’s 2019 Shifflet TRAVEL PERFORMANCE/MonitorSM, which profiled 3,894 Hispanic leisure travelers within the United States; and a new custom survey of 3,000 active Hispanic travelers. The most recent study was conducted this year in English and Spanish and analyzed the current needs, opinions and attitudes of Hispanic travelers in the United States, making it the most significant study on this traveling group to date.
MMGY and its supporting sponsors – Destination Cleveland, Discover Puerto Rico, Hilton, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, NYC & Company, Travel Oregon and Tripadvisor – are proud to share that MMGY will donate 100% of its total profits from sales of the report to non-profit study partner Travel Unity.
Travel Unity’s mission is to make the world of travel welcoming to people of all backgrounds and abilities.
The Black Traveler
In early 2021, MMGY Travel Intelligence released its inaugural study of under-represented traveler audiences: The Black Traveler: Insights, Opportunities & Priorities. It was created to identify the needs, behaviors and sentiment of the Black travel community on behalf of Black traveler advocacy organizations. Both phases of this groundbreaking report are available now for purchase.
Phase I: The first phase report explores the leisure and meetings segments of the U.S. Black travel economy. It draws from DK Shifflet TRAVEL PERFORMANCE/MonitorTM and details the findings of over 4,800 surveys of Black leisure travelers within the United States as well survey findings from 200 members of the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals in 2020 (NCBMP). The Black traveler report shares insights into the spending power of the Black U.S. leisure travelers in addition to an in-depth analysis of historical travel behaviors, interests and trends. The report is available now for purchase.
Phase II: The second phase report is an international study that shares data from a new custom survey analyzing the current opinions and attitudes of Black leisure travelers globally. The survey also delves deeper into the decision-making process for vacation planning and uncovers the barriers and experiences that Black leisure travelers encounter across several global markets including the U.S., Canada, UK/Ireland, France and Germany. The report is available now for purchase.
The Black Traveler: Insights, Opportunities & Priorities report was made possible by Choice Hotels International®, Tripadvisor and Virginia Tourism Corporation, as well as by input and oversight from a steering committee of diverse industry experts and through partnerships with travel advocacy organizations, including the Black Travel Alliance (BTA), the NCBMP and the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers (NABHOOD). Net proceeds from study sales will be donated back to the BTA, NABHOOD and NCBMP – as well as several other not-for-profit groups.