Spending on travel and tourism fell slightly last quarter after taking a nosedive earlier in the year — an encouraging sign for the battered industry.
Travel and tourism spending dropped at a 1.4% annual rate in the second quarter of 2009 from the first quarter, following an 8.9% decline in the first quarter, the Commerce Department [...]

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Fareologists at Bing Travel issued a preliminary outlook for the 2009 holiday travel season, uncovering a holiday season that is distinctly more traveler-friendly than the 2008 season.
This year, airfare for Thanksgiving travel to domestic destinations averages $327, down 22 percent from 2008 and virtually on par with 2007 fares. Christmas and New Year’s holiday airfare [...]

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Close-to-home holidays dubbed “staycations” by trend-watchers have proliferated in the financial crisis, but now the travel industry is gearing to draw another crowd — aging populations in countries like Germany whose spending power may outlast the downturn.
You could call them “greycationers”: the 50-plus age group mutating under a massive influx of baby-boomers who grew up [...]

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Corporate travel is projected to drop by 15% this year, compared with 2008, while overall travel demand could decline by 11%, according to a study by a market research firm.
Despite signs that the country’s economic free fall may be bottoming out, demand for business travel continues to plummet, putting airlines and hotels in financial straits.
As [...]

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A new report, to be released Tuesday by Forrester Research, found that far from embracing the do-it-yourself era, many consumers were fed up with the complicated process of planning and booking travel.
“What we’ve seen is growing frustration,” said Henry H. Harteveldt, a Forrester travel analyst. “Consumers see other Web sites becoming easier to use – [...]

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A report in the UK has highlighted that the package holiday is making a “remarkable comeback”.
According to a report filed by The Telegraph, a rush for late deals because of the poor weather, coupled with the financial security offered by holiday firms should things go wrong, has seen the popularity of the package flourish once [...]

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The recession is taking a toll on travel industry loyalty marketing and rewards programs, according to Colloquy research on U.S. consumer attitudes and perceptions.
The travel-specific results indicate that customers are consolidating their spend with fewer hotels and fewer airlines as the travel-whenever-you-want-for-business “bubble” has burst, and consumers are no longer able to earn elite status [...]

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It seems we Canadians are cheapskates when it comes to travel. The qualifier “cheap” is a popular one to include in searches in all of the markets we monitor.
It seems we Canadians are cheapskates when it comes to travel. The qualifier “cheap” is a popular one to include in searches in all of the markets [...]

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But after signing up for my own Twitter account earlier this year (www.twitter.com/michellehiggins) — and being guilty of all of the above — I can now attest to at least one practical use for travelers: complaining.
As hotels, airlines and other travel companies line up on Twitter to promote their brands, customers who voice their grievances [...]

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