David Crochet
July 14, 2009
Houma house fire kills 4 pets
July 16, 2009
Tri-parish residents may be cutting their discretionary spending in some areas because of the current economic climate, but they are not abandoning vacations this summer, local travel agencies say.
“People might not be going on long, elaborate vacations like they used to, but they are going on vacation as usual,” said Margaret Adams, general manager of A World of Travel in Houma.
Chase Card Services conducted a nationwide phone survey in April and May to see how Americans were dealing with the second consecutive summer recession.
Customers responding to the poll signaled that they still intended to spend money getting away. Nearly half of the people polled were planning their regular summer vacation, and 28 percent of those said they intended to at least take a trip closer to home.
Only 29 percent were skipping vacationing entirely this summer to cut costs, the survey said.
Adams, a veteran travel agent, said the Disney World packages were among the top vacations Houma residents booked this summer, aside from beach trips and cruises out of New Orleans.
“Disney World is always a repeat vacation,” she said, “and cruises to Cozumel, Mexico, are the other favorite.”
Trips to the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand and Europe were the more exotic trips A World of Travel booked locally for anniversaries and honeymoons, Adams said.
She said European travel has been down in recent years because of costs. But, this summer, European cruises out of New Orleans have still attracted takers.
“In the past, the currency exchange still had people paying too much for the European trips,” Adams said. “With the cruises, people know what they are paying up front. They have their meals and activities already paid for. If they want to do other activities off the boat, they can, but they don’t have to.”
Tradewinds International Travel, also based in Houma, experienced a slight decline in summer booking. Owner Joe Mayet said the summer recession and the outbreak of the Swine Flu slowed foreign travel.
“People don’t realize it, but we have had a lot of local layoffs from national companies,” he said, “and the way the Swine Flu outbreak was portrayed in the media it deterred people from booking trips to Mexico.”
Mayet said the older travelers are also taking shorter trips to ensure that their financial portfolios are still sufficient in the wake of a bigger economic crisis, should one occur.
“The economy has people being selective about where they travel these days,” Mayet said. “Therefore, hotels and resorts have to offer discounts to fill rooms.”
Mayet said several Mexican resorts offered discounts up to 70 percent, Las Vegas hotels gave guests free show tickets, New York hotels offered rooms at half price, Australian attractions offered five night specials, including hotel and airfare from the West Coast, and trips to Fiji and Tahiti were also half priced.
“Reduced rates were available pretty much everywhere depending on where people wanted to go,” he said.
Chris Mann, owner of Sun Center Travel and Tan Agency, a Morgan City-based agency, said the market was good during the spring, but slowed toward the beginning of summer. “It seems that the recession may be making its way to this area,” he said.
Like Tradewinds International Travel, Mann saw booking on Mexican cruises out of New Orleans plummet over the Swine Flu scare. He had to divert many trips to the states.
The most exotic trips Mann booked this summer were to Fiji and Chile. Many St. Mary Parish travelers took advantage of the Disney vacations this summer because the amusement park, which normally only offers specials during select seasons, expanded its family specials to increase foot traffic.
“Disney was offering families who paid for four nights, three extra nights at the amusement park,” he said. “That is very unusual. They never offer big specials in the summer. Most times, they offer them in the beginning of fall and the beginning of spring, but never summer.”
With summer coming to a close, Thibodaux travel agent Kathy Ordoyne of Peltier Travel Agency has sound advice for locals planning to take next year’s vacation – start early.
“In order to get the best deals, you have to book them early,” she said. “About six months in advance is the best time. You really don’t want to wait to see if resorts or hotels will offer specials because, if they don’t, you will be stuck paying higher prices in the height of the vacation season.”
Tradewinds’ owner Joe Mayet helps Houma resident Elizabeth Rousseve plan a second honeymoon. The current economic climate has not yet hurt area travel agencies. * Photo by KEYON K. JEFF
