TRAVEL TRENDS IN A DOWN ECONOMY

[thepiranha]

I recently read a syndicated article in my local newspaper, entitled "Travel Trends in a Down Economy." The article summarizes how the economy is changing the way we travel:



1) People are vacationing in smaller, secondary cities. Fort Myers, Florida and Charleston, South Carolina experienced double digit growth in tourism from January 2008 to 2009. The article listed Tucson, Palm Springs, and Portland, Oregon as other cities with spikes in tourism.



2) Travelers are going back to basics and instead of taking a trip to Europe, they might go to a national park or amusement park.



3) Trips for women have become very popular, whether it's renting a vacation home or going to a spa. Maybe the down economy is spurring more travelers to take bonding trips to make them feel more secure in these uncertain times.



4) Home port cruising is making a comeback. Fewer cruisers are flying to a cruise departure destination, but instead are opting for cruises that depart within driving distance of their homes.



How do these points relate to my travel plans? I have one international trip and one cruise planned for the next few months, but I'm looking to take more trips that are within driving distance. Luxury Link offers numerous very attractive packages all along the West Coast and I plan to purchase some of these packages to use later this summer. A week-long vacation staying in two or three bed and breakfasts sounds like a great vacation.



Are there any second cities (i.e., not New York, Chicago, L.A., etc.) that you particularly recommend? Are you downsizing your vacations to take advantage of local sights instead of traveling internationally?

[betsyv]

First off Piranha, the article is not totally correct. I live in Fort Myers, Florida and our tourism is not experiencing double digit growth. While we have seen some tourists return as in years past, their spending is not up to par and we are still very much hurting...



But in regards to travel trends in a down econonmy, I was booking an overseas business trip. I went to my boss with a schedule via United Airlines for $5400 and a schedulevia Delta for $6000. They were both r/t, both business class. The United itinerary only had one stop in Chicago, whereas the Delta had two stops in Alanta and Tokyo. The United schedule was at least 3 hours shorter each way in total transit time. As I am a Platinum Medallion/Million Miler with Delta, I was asking for permission to book the more expensive trip with Delta rather than the cheaper with United. He told me to call Delta and explain the matter and see if they would book the longer, 2 stop itinerary at the United price. I called the International Dept at Delta and was told I must email re the matter. I emailed as told and again explained the whole situation. I got a kind of form, non personal answer that went into that they don't match other airlines fares and that isn't the purpose of their "Best Fare Guarantee". I tried to contact the responder to make sure they understood that I was just asking them to match markets which they do from time to time. I was again rebuffed.



I have never been asked by my boss to do this kind of negotiation but I was surprised about Delta's reluctance to bring their fare down from $6000 to $5400 even noting that I was willing to make more stops, longer trip time to show my support. Oh well.



The second travel trend is that I have seen prices dropping on hotels and airfare for certain markets over and over again. It is becoming more trickier to know when to book...

[kyshel]

a very popular second city in the midwest is Cincinnati.
Riverfront downtown (no riverwalk but the KY side has best views and an entertainment area called Newport on the Levee) Good sports (well, the Bengals have been good in the past...) Fabulous zoo--white tigers/gorilla breeding. Fine arts--excellent art and antural history museums. Riverboat and food and wine events (they even have two--count them--two--goetta festivals!!If you have to ask...?)

The Cincy Flower Show is sanctioned by the Royal Horticultural Society of Great Britain so it's quite the schwa schwa thing to see in the spring. Mammoth Cave National Park is not far--I think the most outstanding cave system in the world-underground rivers and rock/crystal formation to rival the finest "artwork" in nature. The weather changes so frequently due to the Ohio river oxbow and valley that you should plan to layer clothing on and off as needed. You can even do the American Steamboat trips thru Cincinnati. Maybe LL should look at some ideas to offer a package here?
Message Edited by kyshel on 02-26-2009 11:14 AM

[bridybo]

As far as non-major cities/locales go I enthusiastically recommend Charlottesville Va-home to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, the University of Virginia, smack dab in the heart of Virginia's wine country and close to Shennandoah NP.



Places I'm interested in going



Portland, Oregon-looks like a great city with and independent spirit and close to the Columbia River gorge



Asheville, NC- great restaurant scene with the Blue Ridge Mountains at your doorstep



St. Augustine, FL- old world Spanish colonial charm



Minneapolis,MN- great food and art scene

[kyshel]

I think St Augustine can be a real treat--one of the best-kept secrets of Florida!

[thepiranha]

Betsyv, the article used American Express Travel bookings as a benchmark. Maybe their numbers are different from real life numbers.



I guess Delta's best fare guarantee means that you can get their best fare and not necessarily another airline's best fare. To me, "Best Fare Guarantee" means that you won't get a better fare anywhere, but I guess that's my interpretation. I'll bet you invested quite a bit of time and energy into getting Delta to match United's fare. You'd think that being a Million Miler would have some pull, but there may be some rules that absolutely cannot be broken.

[thepiranha]

Thanks for adding to the discussion. I know very little about Cincinnati, other than the fact that very few people can spell it correctly, but you make it sound like a very interesting city to visit. I have to disagree with you about Cincinnati being a good sports town The Bengals lost the only two Super Bowls they played in (1981 and 1988). The Big Red Machine dominated baseball, appearing in five World Series in the 1970's and winning three of them. They also won in 1990, but that was nineteen years ago. I have family in Pittsburgh and usually take a side trip for a few days when I visit. I'll definitely think about Cincinnati the next time I go back.

[thepiranha]

Bridybo, I agree with your Charlottesville recommendation. I applied to the University of Virginia School of Business many years ago and I was extremely impressed by their beautiful campus.



Portland, Oregon is a great city. We live close to Portland and we visit at least twice a year. The city is very pretty with the river running right through it. There are many bridges spanning the river. The gorge is beautiful and an easy day trip from the city. Don't miss Multnomah Falls, one of the most picturesque sites in Oregon. Portland takes great pride in supporting local grown and produced products, so there is a vibrant art community as well as many excellent restaurants. The top restaurants in town tend to buy their meat and produce from small, independent farmers, and there is an abundance of local wild salmon and other seafood, wild mushrooms, apples, pears, and grapes. You're probably aware that Oregon produces some of the best Pinot Noir in the world. Just south of Portland is McMinnville, where you can tour many wineries and sample their delicious wines. Okay, I'm beginning to sound like the Portland Chamber of Commerce. Sorry about that.

[kyshel]

the piranha--I vote for Portland, too (I only had a day to spend whist touring mostly Seattle area) as a lovely middle-tiered city. Between the reputation for excellent wines and the creative use of some of the best raised local food products, it's a good idea to consider a visit again. LL used to have a hotel package but I could never work out the flight details and timing for us to go there. Wish I could remember....
I don't disagree about the Bengals nor the Big Red Machine (someone in this forums previously dated a very famous ballplayer...) but I figured most people would only be into the current sports scene. Those of us with some age fondly recall the olden days!
If you happen to have a zoo membership in Portland (or in other cities), you might have reciprocal rights at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens (meaning--free!!) We like to use reciprocals whenever possible.
I highly recommend Mammoth Caves--nothing else really compares to that natural wonder--particularly if you have the teens with you (we made "crystals" with sugar and water aka rock candy after our trip, so it was very educational!)

[kyshel]

I agree that, with some energy, betsyvv can pursue the issue with Delta. I think they'd be very interested in the outcome of her quest to stay with Delta and I think they should have matched the fare or made an effort to come close with a credit or something to encourage her to fly with them and keep a valuable customer. No company should give away a $5K ticket to another airline--certainly not involving a loyal client...