A leading lodging and vacation rental directory that facilitates comparison shopping for trip planners in the US and abroad, is conducting a trend analysis on its database of 11,930 opted-in travelers searching for vacation rentals in Caribbean’s top island destinations from July 2008 to January 2010.

These insightful findings confirm consumer’s high demand for comparison shopping in the travel industry, as well as other interesting findings on vacation planning and vacation themes for popular vacation destinations in the Caribbean.

Travel Trends for Saint Thomas St Thomas’ Comparison Shopping Trends: According to the study, 68 percent of the vacation planners who inquired for a place to stay showed interest in comparison shopping among St Thomas vacation rentals, bed breakfasts, motels, and hotels.

St Thomas’ Vacation Planning Trends: 52 percent of the travelers were early planners who started their vacation planning 2 or more months in advance from the travel dates, 25 percent of the inquiries were from travelers who inquired 1 to 2 months in advance, and 19 percent were from last minute travelers inquiring within the last 30 days prior to the arrival date.

St Thomas’ Vacation Themes: Based on the number of adults and children requested on the inquiries received, St Thomas’s most popular vacation theme is romance with 39 percent of the inquiries requesting accommodations for 2, 31 percent for groups of more than 4 adults, 24 percent for families with children, and 7 percent for people traveling alone.

Travel Trends for Saint John
St John’s Comparison Shopping Trends: According to the study, 84 percent of the trip planners showed interest in comparison shopping among St John vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, hotels, and resorts.
St John’s Vacation Planning Trends: 58 percent are early planners who started their vacation planning for Rincon 2 or more months in advance from the travel date, while 19 percent of the inquiries were sent 1 to 2 months in advance, and 17 percent were from last minute travelers inquiring within the last 30 days prior to the arrival date.

St John’s Vacation Themes: The most popular vacation theme for St John is romance with 45percent of the traveler’s inquiries requesting accommodations for 2, 29 percent for groups of more than 4 adults, 22 percent from families with children, and 6 percent for people traveling alone.

    Travel Trends for Saint Marteen / St Martin
St Martin’s Comparison Shopping Trends: According to stats collected, 68 percent of the vacation planners showed interest in comparison shopping among St Martin vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, hotels, and resorts.

St Martin’s Vacation planning Trends: Stats show that vacation planning for this island is dominated by early planners with 53 percent of the inquiries coming from those who started their vacation planning 2 or more months in advance from the travel date, 25 percent of the inquiries were sent 1 to 2 months in advance, and 17 percent were from last minute travelers inquiring within the last 30 days prior to their arrival date.

St Martin’s Vacation Theme Trends: St Maarten’s most popular vacation theme is romance with 47 percent of the traveler’s inquiries requesting accommodations for 2, 27 percent for groups of more than 4 adults, 24 percent for families with children, and 5 percent for people traveling alone.
Travel Trends for Saint Croix

St Croix’s Comparison Shopping Trends: 76 percent of the travelers who searched for short term accommodations showed interest in comparison shopping among St Croix vacation rentals, bed breakfasts, and hotels.

St Croix’s Vacation planning Trends: 58 percent of the travelers were early planners who started their vacation planning 2 or more months in advance from the travel dates, 20 percent of the inquiries were from travelers who inquired 1 to 2 months in advance, and 19 percent were from last minute travelers inquiring within the last 30 days prior to the arrival date.

St Croix Vacation Theme Trends: St Croix’s most popular vacation theme is romance with 35 percent of the traveler’s inquiries requesting accommodations for 2, 25 percent for groups of more than 4 adults, 25 percent for families with children, and 13 percent for people traveling alone.