Travel holiday season will lose $4.05 billion for first time in a decade
The ailing economy. Swine flu. It all ads up to a predicted US$4.05 billion loss for the holiday travel industry.
This marks the first time in a decade that holiday travel is projected to be down, reports corporate travel company Maritz.
"Consumers are not only traveling less, but their budgets are leaner when they do decide to travel," said Rick Garlick, director of consulting and strategic implementation for Maritz Research’s Hospitality Research Group. He added:
"Historically, holiday travel is one of the most lucrative times of the year for the travel industry, but with a projected $4.05 billion loss, many companies will need to figure out a way to compensate for this lost revenue without further compromising customer satisfaction through the addition of yet more fees."
The Martiz poll found that only 23 percent of Americans plan to travel during the holidays this year. That’s down three percent from the average over the past seven years, which amount to 1,599,328 fewer people traveling, according to Maritz.
Nearly one-third of poll respondents told Maritz they’re not traveling because of concerns about finances. Another 14 percent, meanwhile, said they’re staying home because of concerns about swine flu.
Because of both those concerns, 78 percent of travelers plan to travel by car—not air—during the Thanksgiving holiday and 69 percent during the winter holidays.
"Airlines surcharges hammer another nail into the industry’s coffin as airlines continue to slam customers with fees by exploiting peak travel days around the holidays," said Garlick. He added:
"Not only are consumers more frugal, but they are tired of feeling taken advantage of by corporate America. The travel and hospitality industries need to think about the customer experience in this new landscape to remain profitable."
By David Wilkening
David
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