31 December 2009

Poll: travel in 2010 not expected to be better than 2009

The sad news is that Americans aren’t likely to travel much more in 2010 then they have this year, according to a new USA Today-sponsored Gallup Poll.

The reason: slow improvement in the economy.

"This finding offsets the optimism being expressed by travel industry leaders and market analysts who have said the slowly improving economy would increase demand for airline tickets, rental cars and such services as hotel meetings and business-gathering catering," the report says.

The poll finds that only 16 percent of Americans plan to fly more or stay more often in hotels next year than they did in 2009.

About one-third say they actually will fly less frequently and have fewer hotel stays. "Also, tighter corporate travel policies imposed during the recession to reduce travel spending won't vanish," the report says.

Earlier, the National Business Travel Association predicted that corporate travel spending would grow in 2010.

However, American Express, the world's largest travel agency and travel advisory firm, now says demand for most travel services likely won't return to pre-recession record levels in the foreseeable future.

"We have seen signs that there's been some stabilization and that maybe we've turned the corner," Lane Dubin, vice president and general manager of American Express' business travel sales efforts in the Americas, told USA TODAY. He added:

"But that doesn't mean things are going back to the way things were before."

He urged travel providers adjust to the "new normal" of reduced demand.

By David Wilkening