Year-End Survey: Cannes Film Festival and U.S. Presidential Inauguration Top 2009 'Must-Attend' Travel Wish List

Americans say they can stuff four days of luggage in one carry-on; George Clooney and Tina Fey tie for top celeb choice to be stranded with on a Caribbean island; plus more, fun travel favorites unveiled

STEVENS POINT, Wis., Dec. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 30 percent of travelers identified the Cannes Film Festival as the event to which they would most like to travel to in 2009, according to results of a year-end survey conducted on behalf of Travel Guard (http://www.travelguard.com), one of the nation's leading providers of travel insurance and assistance plans. The nationwide survey of more than 200 travelers was conducted earlier this month by RUF Strategic Solutions on behalf of Travel Guard.

Closely trailing the Cannes Film Festival was the upcoming historic presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. (22 percent wish to be witness to history in 2009). Destinations and events including the Amazon River region (15 percent) and the Super Bowl in Tampa, Fla. (10 percent) followed Cannes and the inauguration.

American travelers choose their top celebrity travel companion

Tying at the top at 11.4 percent each, George Clooney and Tina Fey are the celebrities American travelers would "most like to be stranded with on a Caribbean island" in 2009. Clooney and Fey beat out other celebrities mentioned, including Denzel Washington, Beyonce, Terri Hatcher and Adam Sandler. A number of respondents provided write-in celebrities as their top choice, including Jay Leno, Meg Ryan, Michelle Obama, Paul McCartney and Cher.

Travelers 'stuffed' with checked luggage fees and other travel inconveniences

With checked-baggage costs as high as $50, Travel Guard asked its loyal travelers to let them know how many days worth of clothing and essentials they have stuffed in a carry-on bag to avoid checked-luggage fess - one of many 'novelty' fees established by airlines in 2008. Fifty-two percent said they could get four or more days in a carry-on, while 33% responded they could cram three days' worth. Fifteen percent could only get two or fewer days in their carry-on.

Travelers are also in touch with their feelings when it comes to airport annoyances: a whopping 44 percent of survey respondents reported that their "longest airport layover" extended six hours or more, and another 15 percent have spent "days" on a layover. After spending so much time in airline terminals in 2008, travelers were easily able to identify the "worst travel offenders" they encountered: the "airline-chair kicker/grabber" (30 percent); the "loud cell-phone talker" (23 percent) and the perennially high-ranking "crying baby" (21 percent).

Travel Guard's year-end survey also found vacationers have strong opinions on how to navigate airports in 2009. In a contest between the "tram" and the "moving walkway," at busy and spacious O'Hare Airport, a broad majority of travelers (64 percent) would opt for the tram.

Finally, travelers are still looking for the perfect getaway and want to avoid travel mishaps made famous by favorite travel films. According to the survey, 28 percent said the "vacation gone wrong" travel nightmare they would most want to avoid was that of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles, while "Weekend at Bernie's" (17 percent) came in second. National Lampoon's "Christmas Vacation" and "North by Northwest" rounded out the survey as the third and fourth top film not wanting to be emulated while traveling.

Travel Beat is a survey offering the latest traveler insights conducted by Ruf Strategic solutions on behalf of Travel Guard.

About Travel Guard

Travel Guard Group, Inc. ("Travel Guard") (http//:www.travelguard.com) is one of America's leading providers of travel insurance plans for more than 6 million travelers each year. Travel insurance plans through Travel Guard are distributed by more than 12,000 travel agents across the United States.

Travel insurance plans through Travel Guard may include coverage for trip cancellation, travel interruptions and delays, emergency medical expenses, medical evacuation expenses, and lost or delayed baggage. Most plans also include 24-hour travel assistance services* for emergency medical assistance, last-minute or emergency travel changes, lost luggage tracking, pre-trip travel advice, and more.

The travel insurance offered through Travel Guard is underwritten by National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., with its principal place of business in New York, NY. The policy will contain reductions, limitations, exclusions, and termination provisions. All coverages may not be available in all states.

* Assistance services provided by Travel Guard Assist.

About Ruf Strategic Solutions

Ruf Strategic Solutions delivers a full suite of marketing intelligence solutions to help organizations acquire new customers, retain existing customers and develop one-to-one relationships to maximize profitability. Founded in 1976, Ruf Strategic Solutions helps organizations maximize the return on their marketing investment through superior customer intelligence. Ruf's unique ability to integrate vast arrays of data, technology tools and 30 years of expertise, empowers organizations with truly actionable and measurable intelligence. Through Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM), Ruf's clients are able to use consumer insight to reach their target audiences through multi-channel marketing. Ruf currently services many market leaders in a variety of industries. For more information, visit http://www.ruf.com.

        Contact:  Dan McGinnity/Carol Mueller     Brian Major/Erin McKeon
                  Travel Guard                    MMG Mardiks
                  800-826-7791, Ext. 1485/13050   212-219-7560 ext. 6764/6767
                  dan.mcginnity@travelguard.com   bmajor@mmgmardiks.com
                  carol.mueller@travelguard.com   emckeon@mmgmardiks.com

SOURCE Travel Guard