INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Taking a vacation this year?
Looking on the good side of Americans’ ‘vacation deficit’
Enough, already! We’re tired of the federal deficit and state deficits, and now there’s research about a “vacation deficit.” Still, it’s possible for travel marketers to glean something from a national survey sponsored by Access America, seller of consumer travel insurance.
The survey showed that while two-thirds of the respondents value vacations highly, almost one-fourth of them aren’t planning any leisure travel this year . . . and that’s despite the array of attractive deals in the market.
The positive side of the full report is that there’s still a lot of potential for the rest of the year. Thirty-seven percent in the survey already have taken a vacation this year, and another 29 percent are planning one. Those 29 percent, plus the remaining 34 percent who might be persuaded, are your targets.
In a related survey, Orbitz research said 60 percent of working Americans report taking at least two weeks of vacation a year, and a majority of them kiss the office goodbye while away. In a regional split, 64 percent of Southerners won’t call the office, while 48 percent of Westerners stay in touch.
Small cities hustle to keep airline service intact
Airports trying to keep airlines
In the cold, harsh world of air travel, some smaller cities have to pay—directly or indirectly—to keep planes coming into their airports. The New York Times cited Duluth, Minn., and Myrtle Beach, S.C., as examples.
It reported that Myrtle Beach has reduced its landing fees, terminal rents and other fees and that its convention and visitors bureau plans to spend $8 million (raised privately and from the state) for a marketing campaign particularly aimed at golfers from northern states.
If a city’s small enough ever to lose all of its scheduled service, it can take years to get any back. Tiny Roswell, N.M., went for five years without service after losing it in 2002.
U.S. Travel Association research points to pent-up demand
The travel industry never likes to hear economic researcher Suzanne Cook at the U.S. Travel Association talk about roller coasters. The reason? She’s talking about the economy, not thrill rides.
A recent report showed domestic leisure travel off 3.5 percent compared to 2008 and confirmed that travelers are staying for shorter durations, traveling shorter distances and hunting bargains everywhere they do go. She closed that report on a note of irony: “Travel in the U.S. is getting cheaper, much cheaper . . . which could help stimulate the demand for travel.”
Update on the Travel Promotion Act . . . progress in the Senate
The leaders of both parties in the U.S. Senate have agreed to move the Travel Promotion Act after the Senate’s August recess. Proponents say the legislation will deliver $4 billion in new spending annually to the economy by attracting millions of additional international visitors to the U.S.
“The Travel Promotion Act is common-sense legislation that will create American jobs, strengthen local communities and reduce the federal deficit,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “Travel promotion is the proverbial ‘no brainer’ – just ask every other developed nation in the world that is wooing Americans to spend our hard-earned dollars in their economies. We appreciate the Senate’s commitment to put America on a level playing field.”
The Travel Promotion Act creates a non-profit corporation to better communicate America’s travel policies and promote the United States as a premier travel destination. No U.S. taxpayer dollars are used to fund the program. Nearly every developed nation other than the United Sates operates a multi-million dollar promotion program to attract foreign visitors.
AROUND THE SOUTHEAST U.S.
‘Most Mannerly City’ title shifts from Charleston to Savannah
Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., have an extremely polite rivalry, something you might expect after centuries of charming visitors from around the world. Now, they both have earned the title of “America’s Most Mannerly City.”
It’s a 37-year-old, survey-driven accolade that Charleston has captured for the last 14 years. This year, the organizer gave Charleston a lifetime achievement award of sorts and retired “the city where the Ashley and Cooper rivers come together to form the Atlantic Ocean” from the balloting.
Savannah got the nod in the most recent poll, and Charlestonians applauded . . . politely, of course.Out there with the bears, the birds and the flowers
The Great Smokies
If you have a unit of the National Park Service in your area, view it as the good thing that it is because national park visitation is up almost four percent year to date. That’s an extra 4.5 million visits compared to the first half of 2008. One example: Visitation at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina is up six percent. Last year’s total was more than nine million visits, the most of any national park.
Go camping in someone else’s ‘silver bullet’
Have you ever wondered what it’s like inside one of those spiffy-looking “silver bullet” Airstream trailers? Now you can do more than just look because KOA has Airstreams for rent at some of its locations around the country.
In the Southeast, you can wheel into the KOA at Sugarloaf Key near Key West and unload your “camping gear” into a stationary Airstream. You won’t even need to install a trailer hitch on your vehicle. Other KOA’s with Airstreams are in Santa Cruz, Calif., Bar Harbor, Maine, and Las Vegas.
SOUTHEAST TOURISM SOCIETY EVENTS
+ STS Fall Meeting: The Clear Road to Recovery. Sept. 9-10, 2009; Atlanta Registration form
+ STS Congressional Summit: Sept. 16, 2009; Washington, D.C. Registration form
