Eurobarometer 48.0: Holiday Travel, October-November 1997

Résumé 0

This round of Eurobarometer surveys queried respondents on standard Eurobarometer measures, such as how satisfied they were with their present life, whether they attempted to persuade others close to them to share their views on subjects they held strong opinions about, whether they discussed political matters, and how they viewed the need for societal change. Additional questions focused on the respondents' knowledge of and opinions on the European Union (EU), including how well-informed they felt about the EU, what sources of information about the EU they used, and whether their country had benefited from being an EU member. The surveys also questioned respondents on the common European currency, whether certain policy decisions (e.g., defense, environmental protection, currency, health and social welfare, education, etc.) should be made at the national or EU level, what criteria were important for deciding whether a new country should join the EU, how the enlargement of the EU would affect the current members countries, the EU Common Agricultural Policy, the Treaty of Amsterdam, the Basque Country, their thoughts about the 21st century, and their feelings toward people of other nationalities, races, and religions. A set of questions also asked about respondents' attitudes toward the European Parliament, how this organization defended their interests, and whether they planned to vote in the next elections to the Parliament scheduled in June of 1999. A major focus of the surveys was issues surrounding vacations and holiday travel. Respondents were asked whether they had taken a trip in 1997 and, if not, the reason they did not travel, whether they had ever been on a holiday and, if so, when they went on their first holiday and for what duration, what subsequent vacations they took, which countries and locales they visited, who accompanied them, and how they traveled to their destinations. Other questions focused on where respondents stayed during their holiday, what criteria they used to select a holiday destination, how much they would spend in the current year for their holiday, what type of payment (e.g., checks, credit card) they used, what types of local products they purchased, what kinds of places they visited, and what kinds of events they attended. They were asked who arranged their holiday, how they obtained information and how they rated tourist information in general, if they sought out tourist information before or while on vacation, and how satisfied they were if they had already taken a vacation during the year. They also indicated whether they planned to travel in the following year and, if so, specified their intended destination. Demographic characteristics collected include nationality, left-right political self-placement, gender, age, occupation, marital status, age at completion of education, number of people in household, family income, size of locality, region, and whether a telephone was available in the household. Selected standard Eurobarometer constructed variables and indices are also included. For a comparable survey from this series, see EURO-BAROMETER 25: HOLIDAY TRAVEL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS, APRIL 1986 (ICPSR 8616).