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The current recession, which just entered its 21st month and is the longest downturn since World War II, has caused many of us to reevaluate our personal finances.Â With unemployment rising and credit still hard to come by, saving money and cutting costs has become a priority for many families throughout the country.

While most of these cost cutting measures haven’t been too drastic (i.e. not going out to eat as much, making fewer impulse purchases, etc.) many of us have had to take things a little further.

One of the bigger “discretionary” expenses for families (and individuals) is the summer vacation.Â Whether it’s driving to the beach or flying across country to visit family, when everything’s said and done, a week long summer vacation can cost thousands of dollars.Â No matter your financial situation, this is a lot of money.

Whether or not a family is willing to cut or change their summer vacation in order to save some money is an interesting question.Â Here’s how nearly 200 people responded when asked: Have the current economic problems caused you to alter your summer vacation plans?

38% said No – I still went on previously planned vacations

24% said Yes – I’ve canceled all trips

19% said Yes – But just slightly

14% said No – I did not previously plan on going on vacation

5% said Unsure

According to this data, slightly under half of us have altered our summer vacation plans due to the current economic downturn.Â This was actually a lot higher than I thought that it would be.Â After all, even in bad economic times, we all need to get away for some rest and relaxation!

This data certainly can’t be good news for resort towns, airlines and cruise ships, all of which make a significant amount of their annual revenues in the months between May and August.

Lately there has been a lot of data released which shows the economy may be on the verge of turning around or, at the very least, hitting a bottom and not getting any worse.Â If this is the case, the job market should begin to bottom in a couple months, too.

So, hopefully this points to lots of vacation plans for 2010!