Profiling the Heavy Traveler Segment

The evidence presented in this article supports and extends Twedt's heavy user propo sition to the travel industry and tourism industry: in 1984 a small share of U.S. adults (17%) made over two-thirds of all trips; 70% of the airline trips were made by 4% of U.S. adults. Comparisons of annual national survey data indicate a stable share of travel con sumption by heavy users, except for airline travelers where heavy airline travelers have increased their share of airline travel consumption dramatically. The heavy traveler can be identified easily by readily available demographic and media usage data. Details of the heavy traveler profiles for different travel services are presented.