20 August 2008

Are Increased Travel Prices Fear, Smoke and Mirrors or a Travel Reality?

With all the fanfare and constant press coverage of the increasing cost of travel due to rising fuel prices and subsequent airfare, Travelocity decided to take a closer look at how much travelers paid for their summer vacations. Using hotel data of trips consumed by customers in July 2008 compared to those in July 2007, Travelocity was able to identify 14 major US cities where the price difference of a vacation that included a fight and five night stay in a hotel was actually less than a $50 increase compared to last yearÃ¢â¬â¢s prices.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThereÃ¢â¬â¢s no arguing that the cost of air travel is upÃ¢â¬~, said Amy Ziff, TravelocityÃ¢â¬â¢s editor at large. Ã¢â¬ÅâœBut the mistake many travelers make is that ending their vacation search based on that alone. Hotel pricing in many cities has stayed relatively flat compared to 2007. The hotel stay is typically the most expensive part of any vacation, so steady, an in some cases, decreasing prices means that skipping the vacation this year may not be necessary.Ã¢â¬~

Fourteen popular cities with less than a $50 price difference include Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Diego and San Francisco and others.

By Karen Loftus