Bad travel news: is it over?

Less than three months into 2011, the world travel market is being forced to overcome bad news about paralyzing blizzards, the soaring price of fuel, a natural disaster in Japan, and political unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.
 

“It’s been one blow after another for the travel industry,” notes CNN.
 

There’s no way to measure or calculate the human suffering involved in places such as Japan but the tab for tourism outside of that country is just now starting to add up.
 

Some tour operators in Japan are afraid that individuals and groups were cancelling without knowing the overall situation.
 

Other than northern Japan, and some problems in Tokyo, “the rest of Japan is business as usual,” said tour operator Mike Roberts. “But that message is not getting out to the public.”
 

Almost three million Japanese visited the US in 2009, down 10 percent from the year before.

Japanese tourism has been on a decline for years, according to the US Travel Association. But they spent altogether about US$13 billion visiting the US.
 

The Japan catastrophe will have its biggest impact in North America in the state of Hawaii, where tourism is the largest industry. Tour operators, hotels, restaurants and other tourism-reliant businesses will suffer damages.
 

Gov. Neil Abercrombie predicted the economic consequences would be severe for Hawaii.
"It’s going to be terrible. It’s going to be rough," he told The Cutting Edge News following the quake.
 

Visitor arrivals from Japan, Hawaii’s second-largest tourist market outside North America, dropped 86 percent immediately following the earthquake, according to worldwide media reports.
Rep. Marcus R. Oshiro of Honolulu said the immediate loss of income could be up to US$20 million.
 

Hawaii was the single most popular destination for Japanese visitors, followed by California and New York City.
 

"The market is very important," said David Uchiyama, vice president of brand management at the Hawaii Tourism Authority, told HospitalityNet. "We saw an initial drop-off with the earthquake and tsunami. Since then, our arrivals into the state year-over-year were in the 17 percent to 19 percent drop-off (range)."
 

For California, Japan is the second-largest overseas market after the UK.
 

Travel from Japan declined to a 10-year low in 2003 following the terror attacks and the SARS crisis, said a report from the California Travel & Tourism Commission.
 

"Japanese residents have increased short-haul travel to other Asian countries in recent years, but travel to the US has not recovered to the pre-9/11 level," the report noted. But, "in 2009, the number of overseas visitors from Japan to California dropped even lower than the 2003 level."
 

Delta Air Line’s Tokyo market generates more than $2 billion and the disruption there may cost the company up to $400 million, according to President Ed Bastian.
 

For cruise lines, many in the affected areas have changed their schedules.
 

The Carnival Corporation estimates this disruption to its business will result in about $44 million of lost revenue, according to vice chairman Howard Frank.
 

A new poll finds political instability is the top concern for one third of would-be travelers, wherever they are heading. But in an encouraging sign, that doesn’t mean people are staying home.
 

“The concerns aren’t stopping travelers from going. If anything, they’re more enthusiastic,” the study by Altour concluded.
 

Altour concluded that more than two thirds of travelers are going places more often.
 

But in increasing numbers, visitors are also doing their homework before making their trips.
 

By David Wilkening