INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Is $2-a-gallon gasoline really a prospect?
Will gas prices continue to slump?
Energy watchers are saying that retail gasoline prices have peaked for the summer, which is great news to drive-dependent vacation destinations.
One energy expert, Philip Verleger Jr. at the University of Calgary, foresees the possibility of a crude oil at about $20 a barrel by year’s end. How big a deal is that? Crude at $20 would be about one-third of today’s price and down 86 percent from its peak in the dreary days of summer 2008.
Florida hotelier is new "Face of Travel"
Paco Saldana
Get to know this face. It’s Paco Saldana, who has a new line on his resume – he’s the U.S. Travel Association’s official “Face of Travel.”
Saldana topped the balloting in a contest U.S. Travel organized to personify the travel industry and magnify the message of its “Meetings Mean Business” campaign. The campaign began after a dramatic drop in meetings of all kinds that followed criticism of the industry by some policymakers.
Saldana started as a busboy in 1996 and now is director of guest services at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. His nominating video was one of hundreds entered in the “Face of Travel” contest. More than 16,000 people voted.
Hey, buddy! Just be nice! OK?
Jason Barger, who researched a book by spending seven straight days flying 6,458 miles to seven cities without leaving the airports, offered some calming comments to travelers in a recent Tripso blog posting.
He proposed that you make four agreements with yourself when traveling. They’re all rooted in being nice to others, and although they’re directed at air travelers, they relate to everyone on the road, whether traveling for pleasure or business. They’re his recipe for “staying calm when all hell breaks loose.”
Barger’s book? It’s a good read titled “Step Back from the Baggage Claim.”
AROUND THE SOUTHEAST U.S.
50 years, three states, one national park
Daniel Boone Country
Much is being made of the 75th anniversary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but another national park not far from the Smokies is celebrating its own milestone anniversary.
It’s is the 50th anniversary of Cumberland Gap National Historic Park, whose almost 25,000 acres spread across parts of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Buffalo, Native Americans, longhunters and pioneers found this gap in the rugged southern Applachians. This is Daniel Boone country. You remember Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road from grammar school history class, don’t you?
West, South win ‘I Want To Go There’ survey
The West and the South trounced the Northeast and the Midwest when leisure travelers were asked where they’d like to visit in the next two years. More than 70 percent ranked the West first, while 62 percent want to head to the South. Only 33 percent favored the Northeast, while 21 percent chose the Midwest. Florida was the top state (33 percent).
Source: Ypartnership/Yankelovich 2009 National Travel Monitor
AAA’s favorite historic hotels—only two down South
AAA asked its 65 hotel inspectors to compile a list of their favorite historic hotels. They came up with 41 and somehow chose a Top 10 list. Two hotels in the Southeast were on the short list. Care to guess which they are? Here’s the answer, and a link to the bigger list, too.
SOUTHEAST TOURISM SOCIETY EVENTS
+ STS Marketing College: July 26-31, 2009; Dahlonega, Ga. Registration form.
+ STS Fall Meeting: The Clear Road to Recovery. Sept. 9-10, 2009; Atlanta, Ga. Registration form
+ STS Congressional Summit: Sept. 16, 2009; Washington, D.C.
