Americans’ Summer Activities 2013: An AARP Bulletin Survey · Americans’ Summer Activities...

Americans’ Summer Activities 2013: An AARP Bulletin Survey

Report Prepared by

Al Hollenbeck, Ph.D.

July 2013

Americans’ Summer Activities 2013: An AARP Bulletin Survey

Report Prepared by

Albert R. Hollenbeck, Ph.D. AARP Research

Copyright © 2013 AARP

Research & Strategic Analysis 601 E Street NW

Washington, DC 20049 http://www.aarp.org/research/

Reprinting with Permission

http://www.aarp.org/research/

http://www.aarp.org/research/

Americans’ Summer Activities 2013: An AARP Bulletin Survey iii

Acknowledgements This work was done for the AARP Bulletin. The author would like to thank Barbranda Walls and Jim Toedtman for their input, Social Science Research Solutions (SSRS) for collecting and tabulating the data, and Teresa Keenan and Cheryl Lampkin for their help in preparing the report for publication. For additional information, contact Albert Hollenbeck at (202) 434-6280.

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of more than 37 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into real possibilities, strengthens communities and fights for the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare, employment and income security, retirement planning, affordable utilities and protection from financial abuse. We advocate for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel, and services. A trusted source for lifestyle tips, news and educational information, AARP produces AARP The Magazine, the world's largest circulation magazine; AARP Bulletin; www.aarp.org; AARP TV & Radio; AARP Books; and AARP en Español, a Spanish-language website addressing the interests and needs of Hispanics. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity of AARP that is working to win back opportunity for struggling Americans 50+ by being a force for change on the most serious issues they face today: housing, hunger, income and isolation. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more at www.aarp.org.

The views expressed herein are for information, debate, and discussion, and do not necessarily represent official policies of AARP.

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Americans’ Summer Activities 2013: An AARP Bulletin Survey iv

9

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................................ 1 Background ........................................................................................................ 3 Detailed Findings ............................................................................................... 3

High Likelihood of Participation ............................................................. 3 Moderate Likelihood of Participation .................................................... 4

Low Likelihood of Participation .............................................................. 4 Age Differences in Likelihood to Engage in Summer Activities ................ 6 Gender Differences in Likelihood to Engage in Summer Activities .......... 7 Same Engagement Levels as Last Year…………………………………………..…..

7

More Likely to Engage in Four Activities………..……………………….…….….. 9

Less Likely to Engage in Five Activities………..…………..….……………….….. 10

Summary……………………………………………………………………………….…….….. 9 Appendix A: Demographic Characteristics of Respondents.................................

10

Appendix B: Annotated Questionnaire ............................................................... 12

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Americans’ Summer Activities 2013: An AARP Bulletin Survey v

List of Figures and Tables

Figure 1: Likelihood of Participation in Summer Activities ...................... 5

Table 1: Likelihood of Engaging in Summer Activities by Respondent Age ...........................................................................................

6

Table 2: Likelihood of Engaging in Summer Activities by Respondent Gender ...................................................................................

7

Figure 2: Likelihood of Engaging in Summer Activities at Same Level as Last Year .............................................................................

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Americans’ Summer Activities 2013: An AARP Bulletin Survey 1

Executive Summary With an interest in learning more about activities adults are planning for this summer and on behalf of the AARP Bulletin, in April 2013, AARP Research & Strategic Analysis fielded a short telephone survey among a nationally representative sample of 1,000 individuals ages 18 and older. To reduce response burden, the sample was randomly split in half with each group read half the list of summer activities. Key Findings Just under half of adults of all ages (47%) plan to take a vacation this summer while about the same number (49%) do not plan to take a vacation. One in twenty (5%) are undecided about their summer plans. When asked how likely they were to engage in that activity this summer, respondents

said they were extremely likely or very likely to engage in four activities: • Visit family/friends (79%) • Go to/host a barbecue (71%) • Entertain at home (62%) • Go swimming or to a pool (56%)

When compared to younger respondents, those ages 50+ said they were less likely to engage in eight activities: go to the beach; host/go to a barbecue; go to an amusement park; go swimming or to the pool; take an adventure travel trip; go to movies; go to county/state fairs; and go camping/RV’ing.

Younger respondents said they were more likely to engage in those eight summer activities, all of which involved activities away from the home, except for possibly barbecuing at home.

When compared to male respondents, women said they were more likely to go to the movies (51% vs. 44%), do some gardening (51% vs. 44%), and visit a state/national park (41% vs. 33%).

In contrast, men were more likely than women to go hunting/fishing (35% vs. 21%). While the majority of responders reported that they are likely to engage in the same

activities at the same level as in previous years, noticeable percentages (25% or more) said they would do more of these four activities this year:

• Host/go to a barbecue (29%) • Visit family/friends (28%) • Go swimming or to the pool (25%) • Entertain at home (25%)


While the majority of responders reported that they are likely to engage in the same

activities at the same level as in previous years noticeable percentages (25% or more)

said they would do less of these five activities this year:

• Go to baseball game (27%) • Take an adventure travel trip (26%) • Go to a concert (25%) • Go camping/RV’ing (25%) • Go hunting/fishing (25%)

Conclusions According to our results, almost half of adults of all ages plan to take a summer vacation. The preferred summer activities appear to be around socializing with friends and family and swimming or going to a pool. For all summer activities assessed a majority of responders report they will engage in those activities at the same level as they did last summer. Younger responders (ages 18-49) are more likely than their older counterparts (ages 50+) to engage in activities that take them away from the home. Also, there are minor detectable differences in ratings by gender. Responders reported that their participation in most summer activities were stable relative to last year. Respondents said they were more likely to engage in four activities this year than they did last year (host/go to a barbecue, visit family/friends, go swimming or to the pool, and entertain at home); but they also reported being less likely to engage in five other activities this year than last year (go to a baseball game, take an adventure travel trip, go to a concert, go camping/RV’ing, and go hunting/fishing).


Background

In April 2013, on behalf of the AARP Bulletin, AARP Research & Strategic Analysis contracted with Social Science Research Solutions (SSRS) to field a short telephone survey among a nationally representative sample of adults ages 18 and older to learn more about responders’ summer plans1,2.

Respondents were read a list of summer activities, and for each item they were asked how likely they were to engage in that activity this summer. To reduce response burden, the sample was randomly split in half with each group read half the list of summer activities.

Detailed Findings3

High Likelihood of Participation (50% or more respondents report being likely to engage in an activity this summer)

When asked how likely they were to engage in particular activities this summer, respondents said they were extremely likely or very likely to engage in four activities:

• Visit family/friends (79%) • Go to/hosting a barbecue (71%) • Entertain at home (62%) • Go swimming or to a pool (56%)

1 The survey was fielded from April 17 to April 21, 2013. At the conclusion of the fielding period, responses had been received from 1,000 adults age 18 and older. The sampling error is +/- 3.10 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. This means that in 95 out of 100 samples of this size, the results would fall in a range of no more than three percentage points of what would have been obtained if every person age 18 or older had been surveyed. 2 Throughout the report, results are presented using weighted data figures. 3 Respondents in this study are age 18 and older, with just over half (56%) between age 18 and 49 and just over four in ten (43%) age 50 and older. Slightly more than half are women (52%) and slightly less than half are men (48%). Three in ten (30%) have household incomes of less than $30,000 per year, while nearly one-fifth (18%) have household incomes of $30,000-$49,999 per year. Just over one-third (34%) of respondents reported an annual household income of $50,000 or more, with almost one-quarter (25%) reporting an annual household income of $75,000 or more.


Moderate Likelihood of Participation

Additionally, respondents reported being moderately likely (between 30%-50% extremely likely or very likely) to engage in eight summer activities:

• Go to the movies (48%) • Do some gardening (47%) • Go to the beach (45%) • Go on a picnic (38%) • Go to/hosting a family reunion (37%) • Visit a state/national park (36%) • Go to flea markets/garage sales (35%) • Go to a concert (30%)

Low Likelihood of Participation

Finally, they reported lower likelihood of participating (less than 30%) in the remaining six summer activities they were asked about:

• Take an adventure trip (29%) • Go to an amusement park (29%) • Go hunting/fishing (27%) • Go to a county/state fair (25%) • Go camping/RV’ing (23%) • Go to a baseball game (22%)

Figure 1 (on the following page) shows respondents’ likelihood of participating in the activities they were asked about:


Figure 1 Likelihood of Participating in Summer Activities

10%

11%

12%

12%

12%

13%

14%

14%

15%

16%

16%

23%

24%

25%

29%

31%

37%

43%

12%

18%

11%

13%

17%

14%

16%

22%

23%

19%

21%

22%

24%

22%

27%

31%

34%

36%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Go to baseball games

Go to amusement park

Go camping/Rv'ing

Go to fairs

Adventure travel

Go hunting/fishing

Go to concert

Visit state/national parks

Go on picnic

Flea markets/garage sales

Go to/host family reunion

Go to the beach

Go to movies

Do some gardening

Go swimming/pool

Entertain at home

Host/go to barbecue

Visit family/friends

Extremely Likely

Very Likely


Age Differences in Likelihood of Engaging in Summer Activities

When examining the likelihood of engagement in summer activities by the age groups 18-49 and 50+, eight significant differences emerge (see Table 1 below).

Table 1 Likelihood of Engaging in Summer Activities by Respondent Age*

Summer Activity 18-49 50+ (n=250) (n=250) Visit family/friends 79 78 Go to/host a barbecue 77 64 Entertain at home 64 59 Go swimming or to a pool 69 38 Go to the movies 58 36 Do some gardening 45 52 Go to the beach 51 37 Go on a picnic 38 37 Go/host a family reunion 35 40 Visit a state/national park 38 35 Flea markets/garage sales 35 35 Go to a concert 31 29 Take an adventure trip 33 24 Go to an amusement park 37 19 Go hunting/fishing 30 23 Go to a county/state fair 29 19 Go camping/RV’ing 28 18 Go to a baseball game 25 19

*Bolded items represent significant differences at the .05 level.

• When compared to younger respondents, those ages 50+ said they were less likely to engage in eight activities, all of which involved activities away from home, except for possibly barbecuing at home.

These findings suggest younger individuals are more likely to engage in activities that take them away from the home. Both age groups are equally likely to engage in two of the top four summer activities—visiting family/friends and entertaining at home.


Gender Differences in Likelihood of Engaging in Summer Activities

When examining the likelihood of engaging in summer activities by gender (men and women), four significant differences emerge (see Table 2 below).

Table 2 Likelihood of Engaging in Summer Activities by Respondent Gender*

Summer Activity Male Female (n=483) (n=517) Visit family/friends 78 79 Go to/host a barbecue 73 69 Entertain at home 63 61 Go swimming or to a pool 55 56 Go to the movies 44 51 Do some gardening 44 51 Go to the beach 47 43 Go on a picnic 35 40 Go/host a family reunion 37 37 Visit a state/national park 33 41 Flea markets/garage sales 33 37 Go to a concert 31 28 Take an adventure trip 31 27 Go to an amusement park 31 27 Go hunting/fishing 35 21 Go to a county/state fair 25 25 Go camping/RV’ing 26 21 Go to a baseball game 23 21

*Bolded items represent significant differences at the .05 level.

• When compared to male respondents, women said they were more likely to go to the movies (51% vs. 44%), do some gardening (51% vs. 44%), and visit a state/national park (41% vs. 33%).

• In contrast, men were more likely than women to go hunting/fishing (35% vs. 21%).

Same Engagement Levels as Last Year (50% or more report being likely to engage in an activity this summer)

When read the same list of summer activities, respondents were asked whether they would engage in these activities more, less, or the same as last year. More than half of respondents reported being equally likely as in past years (i.e., the same as last year) to engage in all summer activities they were asked about.


Figure 2 (below) shows the percentage of respondents who said they are likely to engage in particular summer activities at the same level as last year:

Figure 2 Likelihood of Engaging in Summer Activities at Same Level as Last Year

56%

56%

57%

57%

57%

57%

60%

60%

61%

61%

62%

62%

62%

62%

63%

63%

65%

65%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Go camping/Rv'ing

Adventure travel

Go hunting/fishing

Go to concert

Visit state/national parks

Go to the beach

Do some gardening

Host/go to barbecue

Go to baseball games

Go swimming/pool

Flea markets/garage sales

Go to/host family reunion

Go to movies

Entertain at home

Go to amusement park

Visit family/friends

Go on picnic

Go to fairs


More Likely to Engage in Four Activities

While the majority of responders reported that they are about equally likely to engage in the

same activities as last year, one-quarter (or more) of respondents said they are more likely to

engage in four activities:

• Host/go to a barbecue (29%) • Visit family/friends (28%) • Go swimming or to the pool (25%) • Entertain at home (25%)

Less Likely to Engage in Five Activities

While the majority of responders reported that they are about equally likely to engage in the

same activities as last year, one-quarter or more of respondents said they are less likely to

engage in five activities:

• Go to baseball game (27%) • Take an adventure travel trip (26%) • Go to a concert (25%) • Go camping/RV’ing (25%) • Go hunting/fishing (25%)

Summary

According to our results, almost half of adults of all ages plan to take a summer vacation. The preferred summer activities appear to be around socializing with friends and family and swimming or going to a pool. For all summer activities assessed a majority of responders report they will engage in those activities at the same level as they did last summer. Younger responders (ages 18-49) are more likely than older ones (ages 50+) to engage in activities that take them away from the home. Also, there are minor detectable differences in ratings by gender. Responders reported that their participation in most summer activities is stable relative to last year.


Appendix A: Demographic Characteristics of Respondents


Americans’ Summer Activities 2013 N=1,000

Age

18-49 56% 50+ 43%

Gender

Men 48% Women 52%

Employment Status

Employed Full-Time 43% Employed Part-Time 17%

Retired 19% Homemaker 6%

Other (student, unemployed, etc.) 15% Educational Level

Less than high school graduate 13% High school graduate 31%

Some college 25% College graduate or technical school 19%

Post-graduate or professional 11% Marital Status

Married 47% Widowed 6% Divorced 9%

Single or single, with partner 35% Separated 3%

Race or Ethnicity

White, non-Hispanic 65% Black, non-Hispanic 11% Hispanic of any race 12%

Other 7%

Annual Household Income Less than $30,000 30%

$30,000-$49,999 18% $50,000-$74,999 10%

$75,000+ 24%


Appendix B: Annotated Questionnaire


Annotated Questionnaire

The study was conducted for AARP via telephone by SSRS, an independent research company. Interviews were conducted from April 17 – April 21, 2013 among a nationally representative sample of 1,000 respondents age 18 and older. Of those respondents, a total of 444 were age 18-49 and a total of 550 were age 50+. The margin of error for total respondents is +/-3.10% at the 95% confidence level. More information about SSRS can be obtained by visiting www.ssrs.com

1. Do you plan to take a vacation this summer?

Yes No Undecided Don’t know/ Refused 47% 49% 3% 2%

2. I am going to read you a list of summer activities. For each one, please tell me how likely you are to do the activity this summer. How about (insert item)? Would you say…?

a. go to the beach (n=496)

Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all Don’t know/ Refused 23% 22% 16% 15% 24% --

b. host/go to a barbecue (n=495)


c. go to an amusement park (n=495)


d. go swimming or to the pool (n=504)

Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all Don’t know/ Refused 36% 33% 13% 9% 21% 1%

e. take an adventure travel trip (n=506)


f. visit family/friends (n=501)


g. go on a picnic (n=506)



2. (continued) I am going to read you a list of summer activities. For each one, please tell me how likely you are to do the activity this summer. How about (insert item)? Would you say…?

h. go to a concert (n=496)


i. go to movies (n=501)


j. entertain at home (n=500)


k. go to county/state fairs (n=496)


l. go to baseball games (n=502)


m. do some gardening (n=497)


n. go to/host family reunion (n=499)


o. go to flea markets/garage sales (n=503)


p. visit state/national park (n=506)


q. go camping/RV’ing (n=497)



2. (continued) I am going to read you a list of summer activities. For each one, please tell me how likely you are to do the activity this summer. How about (insert item)? Would you say…?

r. go hunting/fishing (n=495)


3. Now, I’m going to read you the same list of summer activities. For each one, please tell me whether you will engage in these activities more, less, or the same as last year?

a. go to the beach (n=496)

More Less The Same as last year Don’t know/ Refused 23% 19% 57% --

b. host/go to a barbecue (n=495)


c. go to an amusement park (n=500)

More Less The Same as last year Don’t know/ Refused 14% 22% 63% 1%

d. go swimming or to the pool (n=504)


e. take an adventure travel trip (n=506)


f. visit family/friends (n=501)


g. go on a picnic (n=506)


h. go to a concert (n=496)


3. (continued) Now, I’m going to read you the same list of summer activities. For each one, please tell me whether you will engage in these activities more, less, or the same as last year?


i. go to movies (n=501)


j. entertain at home (n=500)


k. go to county/state fairs (n=496)


l. go to baseball games (n=502)


m. do some gardening (n=497)


n. go to/host family reunion (n=499)


o. go to flea markets/garage sales (n=503)


p. visit state/national park (n=506)


q. go camping/RV’ing (n=497)


r. go hunting/fishing (n=495)


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