Cora asked a question last week about vacations, and whether recreational companies would feel the pinch if "a million people" decided to stay home. Considering the total population of the entire U.S. is estimated about 290,809,777 (see PDF file from Census Bureau), if a million people stayed home, then 289,809,777 people would be on the road. That number messed with our heads a bit, so Cora and I decided to investigate travel and recreation as part of our portfolio research. This makes for a great spring-break activity?

The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) makes our work easy. The link for the TIA takes us to travel statistics, where we find that American roads see more leisure travelers in autos, trucks, and RVs than any other form of travel. We also see that the total domestic U.S. "Person-Trips" in 2002 was 1021.3 million. That's a small way to say that 1,021,300,000 (one billion, twenty-one million, three-hundred thousand) individuals traveled 50 miles "one way or more away from home and/or overnight" in 2002. If there are about 290,809,777 individuals in the U.S., this means that every individual in this country drove 50 miles 3.5 times, or traveled a total of approximately 175 miles in one trip in 2002.

We know it's impossible that every single person in the U.S. traveled 175 miles in 2002. Cora and I tried to remember what we did that year, so we went back to previous BUYandHOLD articles to remind ourselves. Oh, sure - that was the year we rented a car and drove across Nebraska! The highway miles we traveled in Nebraska alone (back and forth) totaled about 700 miles. If we divide 700 by 350 (2 X 175 for two people traveling), we come up with 2. This means Cora and I traveled for two people that summer just with our trip across Nebraska.

Let's pause here to decipher what this information means to our portfolio research. If the largest percentage of travel was for leisure, then we can presume this percentage was made up of families and retirees on the road. If we go back to the TIA page, we also learn that the greatest percentage of travel was done in June, July, and August. These are school vacation months, so this could support our "family" theory. Sit back a moment and think about your own family travels (if you dare). Did you stop for snacks or meals? Do you remember the names of the restaurants? How much did you spend? What about hotels and shopping? Many people discover a hotel system that works for them, and they commit themselves to "frequent buyer" programs. Are you one of those travelers?

If you can remember the answers to these questions, then go to a search engine and type in the company name for the restaurant, hotel, etc. See if they're public (trading on the stock exchanges). If they sell stock, they should have a prospectus for you to view either online or to get through the mail. Here, you'll find more figures like how many people they served and how much profit they made, among other statistics. Choose a competitor and compare information. You might find a great investment, and you may also find a better deal than one you're using now.

Outside of commercial establishments, we can also begin to investigate other services and products. For instance, on the TIA page we discover that road travel in December made up only 9% of total travel. How can that be, when we all know the end-of-year holidays are the busiest travel times of the year? Remember we're looking at road travel, and much of the holiday travel is done by air. What airline do you use, if any? Are you a frequent flyer? Do you own stock in that company? Why or why not?

Let's look at the opposing side of the road/car issue and investigate public transportation. Cora and I went to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) to find answers to our questions about investments in this sphere. Under "research and statistics," there's a link to "ridership" numbers. Here, we discovered that it's difficult to count the number of people who use public transportation, because "the heavy use of passes, transfers, joint tickets, and cash by people transferring from one vehicle to another, one mode to another, and from one public transportation agency to another makes it impossible." However, we learn that public transportation is used most heavily during weekdays, most likely by office workers.

Under "public transportation facts," we learned that transit usage is at an all time high and increased by 6.4 percent in the decade from 1990-2000. Road travel also increased 8 percent from 1994 to 2002 according to the TIA. The big difference between the two is this: For every mile traveled, public transportation uses about one half of the fuel consumed by automobiles, and about a third of that used by sport utility vehicles and light trucks. Plus, according to the APTA, we're safer if we travel by public transportation. But, can we invest in this mode of travel? You bet.

If we go to the "links" at the APTA, you can find "travel by mode." Under this link we have choices like ferryboats, rail, and bus. Each of these modes of transportation is owned by companies that we can discover through the search engines on the Internet (some are state, city, or nationally owned, and our taxes may pay for the transport). Another link includes "industry suppliers," which is another resource to investigate for further investment opportunities. If you're an advocate for public transportation, here's your opportunity to support the issue.

No matter how we travel - or even if we stay at home - there are inroads to portfolio diversity through various transportation and recreational investments. Just begin to ask questions (although not as many as Cora, please!), and new avenues will open for possibilities.

Until Next Week,
Linda Goin