BeCause

The Whys of Holiday Travel

December 07, 2016
AAA estimated that nearly 100 million Americans traveled during the holiday season in 2015, the largest number since the non-profit started keeping track of the number in 2001, and it’s hard to see that number receding any time soon. And while there are likely as many reasons for making those December trips as there are people on the road, there are certain general categories into which we can place most of these adventures.

Our non-profit fundraising auction travel packages can be used at all times of the year for any number of purposes, of course. However, if your organization is planning a late-fall or early-winter event, it might be the right time to consider why your donors are hitting the road – and how you can help them have a holiday season they’ll always remember.

Forty-three percent of all long-distance travel during the holiday season involves people trying to meet up with family members, according to Bureau of Transportation Statistics. But if your donors are already going to be traveling a long distance, maybe they’d prefer to hold the reunion someplace a little more exciting? Let your supporters tell the rest of their family that holiday dinner will be held this year in an Italian villa, or that the traditional touch football game will be held at the base of a ski run in breathtaking Telluride, Colorado. Taking the family for a memory-making excursion can be a strong motivator for your donors.

For families with kids, the holiday season can carry an extra level of stress; not only can gift-buying be a hassle, but also the children are around all day thanks to winter vacation. But that school-year intermission also gives families an opportunity: Unlike eight other months of the year, when kids can only travel so far from their hometowns thanks to classes on Monday morning, a two-week break is a chance to take a once-in-a-lifetime retreat to a far-away land. Our travel packages to the Palace Resorts of Mexico, for instance, make for great family getaways (and they’re all-inclusive, to boot!), and no one has to feel rushed by cramming a long trip into a short weekend.

Of course, not everyone holds the holiday season in high regard. For some, the end of the year is a schmaltzy mess of bad television specials, packed mall parking lots and early store closures. If that sounds like some of your donors, there’s still a holiday trip for them … Las Vegas! The holiday season in Sin City looks a lot like every other season in the Nevada desert: Neon lights, shows, and some of the best new dining options in the country. Your winning supporter will be surrounded by like-minded travelers, escaping from the sometimes overwhelming holiday atmosphere in a city that never sleeps.