January 15, 2002
Report & Analysis · Other Poll Releases
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgians are confident that the new aviation security legislation will improve airport security, but one in four say the legislation means they are even less likely to travel by air, according to the latest Peach State Poll, a quarterly public opinion survey conducted by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
Eighty-four percent of Georgians say they approve of the federal aviation security bill passed last November, and those who are most familiar with the legislation were more likely to support it strongly. Additionally, 76 percent of Georgians are either very confident (21 percent) or somewhat confident (55 percent) that the legislation will actually improve airport security.
Despite high confidence in the legislation, however, only 14 percent of Georgians say that they are now more likely to travel by air; one in four Georgia residents (25 percent) say they are less likely to travel by air as a result of the legislation.
Confidence in security of the airports is not the only factor driving reticence to fly again. A majority of Georgians admits to being bothered by the probability that the new security measures will add to airport delays.
Other survey results:
• Forty-eight percent of poll respondents say they are more likely to vacation within the state of Georgia since the September 11 terrorist attacks, and 14 percent report having canceled plans to travel by air because of the danger of terrorist attacks.
• Seventy-two percent of Georgians believe that the terrorist attacks on September 11 hurt Georgia’s tourist economy a great deal (31 percent) or some (41 percent). Of those who are employed or have a household member employed in a field that depends on tourism, 86 percent say the terrorist attacks hurt the industry either a great deal (55 percent) or some (31 percent).
Seven percent of respondents say that they or someone in their household is employed in a field that is dependent upon tourism. This figure is about equivalent to the size of the workforce employed in finance, insurance and real estate in Georgia.
• The most popular tourist site within the state is Stone Mountain, chosen as the favorite site by one in five respondents (20 percent) who offered a favorite destination. The most common way for Georgians to learn about tourist destinations within the state is via word of mouth, although those who visit Georgia’s tourist sites most often are more likely to use the Internet to learn about the sites.
These data are taken from the Peach State Poll conducted by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government between Dec. 12 and Dec. 19, 2001. The poll included 805 telephone interviews of randomly selected adults in Georgia. For a sample of this size, the margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level is +/- 3.5 percent.
