About half of all pet owners travel with their companion animals, according to a recent survey of more than 1,500 worldwide travelers by a travel research website, TripAdvisor.
Forty-eight percent of respondents said the biggest reason they take their animals with them is they simply enjoy spending their vacation with their pets; 15 percent said they bring their companions along because their pet gets upset when they leave.
The biggest concern among travelers taking trips with pets, according to 34 percent of the panel, is subjecting them to the stress of the flight or ride.
Thirteen percent of respondents admitted that their pets actually prevent them from going on vacation; 37 percent of travelers would pay more for pet-friendly accommodations and 23 percent of respondents will only stay at animal-amiable lodging.
Twenty-nine percent of respondents take fewer vacations so they won't be away from their pets and 38 percent take shorter vacations for the same reason.
Fifty percent of all respondents said hotels need to be more accommodating for animals. Among amenities pet-owning travelers would like to see hotels provide: 23 percent requested pet-sitting services and 22 percent said hotel kennels. Twenty-one percent of travelers admitted to having smuggled a pet into a hotel room.
Fifty-eight percent of those surveyed said they think airlines need to be more pet-friendly. When flying with a pet, 39 percent choose to bring them as a carry-on, while 14 percent said they feel comfortable passing them off as check-in luggage.
Posted: July 22, 2006, 5 a.m. EST