Business News
How Travelers Can Beat the Bad Economy
2008-07-29 09:30:00
How Travelers Can Beat the Bad Economy
Vacation Packages and Tours Can Save Travelers 30% NEW YORK, July 29 /EMWNews/ -- You may be overpaying 20-30% by planning your vacation independently, says the U.S. Tour Operators Association, whose members provide vacations for 11 million travelers yearly. According to an informal member survey, travelers can save an average 30% on land or cruise vacations, and 20% on air-inclusive packages. Travel in low season saves an additional 20%, and up to 40% for areas like Mexico and the Caribbean. Depending on destination and trip complexity, overall savings on land packages and tours, based on a one week, high-season at rack rates, can range anywhere from 5%-50%, and from 10%-35% on air-inclusive trips. USTOA reports overall savings have remained fairly constant since its last similar survey in 2005, although savings on air-inclusive packages and tours are slightly less because of increased fuel prices. The survey also revealed that for travelers with limited time, booking a one-week air-inclusive, escorted tour saves an average 9 hours of planning time and an average 16 transactions. Tour Operators Fight to Maintain Savings "Despite rising costs, tour operators have fought to maintain savings for travelers," says Bob Whitley, USTOA president. Tour operators hedge the dollar by contracting for rooms and other services in bulk, and by buying currency futures. Through longstanding relationships with hotels and other suppliers, tour operators can negotiate group or net rates and bulk air fares, or even bundle individual bookings into groups to block rooms at better prices. Many companies price and lock in their trips a year in advance, buying Euro and other currency futures, so that passengers are protected against currency surcharges. So a passenger traveling in 2008 is actually paying 2007 prices," says Whitley. To navigate through the dollar dilemma, USTOA suggests travelers look for: -- Price guarantees -- meaning the tour operator won't raise prices. -- Value-added offers -- additional free nights, and other free attractions such as meals or sightseeing. -- Discounts -- loyalty plans and discounts for repeat customers, frequent travelers and groups of friends or family. Early booking and buying a second tour sometimes garners a discount. -- Specials, two-for-the-price-of-one, and hotel and air fare promotions. The USTOA survey was based on a sampling of 12 companies representing a range of tours and packages worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.ustoa.com.
Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link. Bob Whitley EMWNews.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=56458" target="_new">https://profnet.EMWNews.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=56458
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