Huge Travel Savings
By: Elizabeth Manresa, CNN
Updated: February 20, 2009
Fewer people are taking to the skies, hitting the roads and checking into
hotels, and the recent stimulus package didn't give the travel industry the help it was
looking for.
But the payoff for consumers could still be big.
Travel projections for 2009 are down, and, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, travel-related job losses are on the rise.
"The recently-signed stimulus package) didn't have anything to promote and bring people to the U.S. from outside the United States and that's new cash," said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. "They come to your community, they leave their money, they go home."
With fewer overseas visitors coming to the U.S., the industry is forced to find new ways to lure more travelers -- mainly with good deals. But that won't last forever.
"These things are cyclical and as business comes back, those prices will go up so I say it's a great time to go to a place you never thought you could go to before and really have some fun," Dow said.
You can find package deals like this: six days in Hawaii, air and hotel, starting at $638 per person . Hotels across the country are slashing rates by 25 to 50 percent. Car rental companies are even offering freebies like gas cards. The temptations could pay off.
"It would be nice sometime to have a get away this time of year," said one traveler who might not have otherwise spent his money on a vacation.
Spring break travel is just around the corner, and industry experts believe it's one area that could be immune to a slow-down.
