The term "staycation" has been the buzzword of summer, picked up by the media to refer to a home-based vacation as an alternative to one taken out of town.

But a July survey by the nonprofit Travel Industry Association and Ypartnership, a travel research firm, shows that a significantly lower percentage of people are actually "staycationing" than analysts had predicted. And of those who are, 22 percent, or 5.1 million adults, expect to stay at least one night in a local hotel, motel or resort during their time off from work.

"We don't mean to say that travel isn't soft right now – certainly people are being more cautious in their trips and looking for ways to economize. But it's kind of come across that everybody's staying home, and that's not true," said Suzanne Cook, senior research analyst with the Washington, D.C.-based TIA. "Through the study, we were able to quantify that it is really a small percentage (14 percent) who have taken a staycation or are planning a staycation (9 percent)."

An unexpected consequence of the staycation trend is the windfall that some lodging establishments and other tourism-related business are seeing from an increase in local business.

Mark and Marla Ludwig of Sacramento are among those contributing to the local economy this summer with tourism- related expenditures.

Marla, a Valley High School English teacher, was "totally stressed out" by the time the semester ended in June. Her husband surprised her on the last day of classes with a mini-vacation at the Inn and Spa at Parkside, a 10-room, luxury bed-and-breakfast inn near downtown Sacramento where the couple had spent their wedding night 1 1/2 years before.

"When he told me where we were going, I started crying, because I wouldn't even have thought of this myself," she said.

Inn owners Dan Sedlock and Diane Gorker count the Ludwigs among many local couples seeking to escape their home-based routines without the hassle of traveling.

"We see a lot of people who don't want to spend the money or the time for travel and are looking around locally and saying 'What can I do that will transport me without going far away?' " Sedlock said. "We are literally seeing people from six blocks away coming to spend a night or two at the inn."

The sudden rise in gas prices in the spring caused many potential travelers to back off from their vacation plans, thus spawning the "staycation" concept. The airline industry went into crisis mode, responding by raising fares, cutting flights and tacking on charges and fees for everything from checking bags to staying hydrated in the air. Predictions for a banner travel year tanked in the process.

"The bottom fell out, no doubt about it," says Greg Dunn, director of insights at Ypartnership. "But what we've found is that most people still want to get away and enjoy themselves, whether locally or not.

"What they're doing differently is making adjustments. They may be driving shorter distances, spending less when they get there, downgrading their lodging, handling their disposable income differently. But they still plan to get away, even if it's local."

Amber House Bed & Breakfast in midtown is among other Sacramento business benefiting from travelers who have modified their summer travel plans.

Local couples have always been a business mainstay on weekends, owner Judith Bommer said. "But this year, looking at June and July, our occupancy is up about 10 percent. And we are seeing a lot of couples during the week, which before we didn't have. Usually during the week we see mostly business travelers."

A similar business mini- bonanza is being noted at the Delta King, where owner Charlie Coyne notes "a noticeable increase in leisure travelers, most coming from within 50 miles away.

"The I-5 closure didn't help," he said, "but once that was over, reservations picked up by 10 percent, which is a big number in the hotel business."

The TIA's Travelhorizons survey found that more than five times as many U.S. adults (60 million) took a leisure trip involving at least one night more than 75 miles from home during the past six months than took a "staycation." Nearly eight times as many (166 million) plan to travel for leisure rather than "staycate" between now and the end of the year.

"The numbers point to the resilience of the traveler and that they're hanging in there," Cook said. "I think people are expecting a challenging holiday season with the whole air situation in general. But with the price of gas coming down, it's looking better."

High gas prices might keep travelers parked in their driveways for the short term, but if history is a guide, they won't stay there forever.

"Previous surveys have tracked how consumers adapt to prices, and the results have been amazing," Cook said. "We've asked several times in the past about gas prices going up and how much more they're willing to pay, and each time we ask, that threshold gets higher and higher."

One strong indication that things will improve: "Intentions are stronger than they were last year," Cook said, referring to a part of the study that measured consumer desire to get away.

"The will of the people is that they want to go, it's just a matter of what they can fit in with their personal finances and what conditions are going to be like."

Analysts had predicted a 1.5 percent overall decline in summertime leisure travel, Cook said, and that forecast is holding right on the mark, staycations or no staycations.

That leaves a lot of people still traveling. Among them is Katie Meyer of Roseville-based Meyer Travel Group, which organizes group tours to Europe and the Near East. Meyer has escorted seven tours so far this year – two to Turkey, one to Morocco, one to Finland, one to southern Italy, one to the Baltic states and one to Croatia.

"My take is that I did see less spending over there because of the euro, but these people are still motivated to go," she said.

Call Bee travel editor Janet Fullwood, (916) 321-1148.