Dec 18, 2007
In 2007, what was new and different in travel, and how do those developments affect our travels in 2008? (Second of a two-part series)
Yesterday I described five significant new travel developments that became apparent in 2007. Here are five more, which all of us should consider and absorb.
6) 2007 was a record year for passenger traffic on Amtrak, causing growing support in Congress for adequate, multi-year appropriations for the beleaguered national railway system. Attempts by anti-Amtrak forces to phase it out seem to have been thwarted -- and we should all rejoice. We should also give an edge to Amtrak in our travel planning.
7) A boom in the rental of vacation homes occurred in Orlando and other sunbelt locations, as well as abroad. New online services for renting vacation homes have been launched even by the hotel companies (see Wyndham Hotels' new EVRentals.com) that compete against the use of vacation homes.
8) There's been a surprising rise in the popularity among Americans of European river cruises, apparently seen to supply a pleasant and inexpensive method of touring the continent. A similar jump has occurred in the rental of self-skippered boats for cruises along the canals and other non-river waterways of Europe.
9) Foreign airfare "aggregators" -- notably, www.momondo.com of Denmark and www.mobissimo.com of Italy -- have attracted a major U.S. audience of technophiles who use these services even for obtaining low-cost airfares within the United States.
10) Priceline.com has made a surprising comeback, mainly in the rental of hotel rooms and cars. Apparently, large numbers of travelers felt in 2007 that they took no risk by bidding low prices for deluxe hotels whose ratings insure a good stay regardless of their identities.
Runners-up to these 10 most significant developments? They include: the recent startling rise in the number of zany Las Vegas weddings, filling the marriage chapels of that weird city; the growth of the vacation exchange industry (you stay in their home while they stay in yours), a tactic that received the supreme accolade in 2007 of a big Hollywood movie; the growing popularity of the re-positioning cruise spending many days simply at sea (since early in 2007, they are no longer so hard to sell); the emergence of free hospitality for young people using such websites as www.couchsurfing.com and www.globalfreeloaders.com. Have I missed any?
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6) 2007 was a record year for passenger traffic on Amtrak, causing growing support in Congress for adequate, multi-year appropriations for the beleaguered national railway system. Attempts by anti-Amtrak forces to phase it out seem to have been thwarted -- and we should all rejoice. We should also give an edge to Amtrak in our travel planning.
7) A boom in the rental of vacation homes occurred in Orlando and other sunbelt locations, as well as abroad. New online services for renting vacation homes have been launched even by the hotel companies (see Wyndham Hotels' new EVRentals.com) that compete against the use of vacation homes.
8) There's been a surprising rise in the popularity among Americans of European river cruises, apparently seen to supply a pleasant and inexpensive method of touring the continent. A similar jump has occurred in the rental of self-skippered boats for cruises along the canals and other non-river waterways of Europe.
9) Foreign airfare "aggregators" -- notably, www.momondo.com of Denmark and www.mobissimo.com of Italy -- have attracted a major U.S. audience of technophiles who use these services even for obtaining low-cost airfares within the United States.
10) Priceline.com has made a surprising comeback, mainly in the rental of hotel rooms and cars. Apparently, large numbers of travelers felt in 2007 that they took no risk by bidding low prices for deluxe hotels whose ratings insure a good stay regardless of their identities.
Runners-up to these 10 most significant developments? They include: the recent startling rise in the number of zany Las Vegas weddings, filling the marriage chapels of that weird city; the growth of the vacation exchange industry (you stay in their home while they stay in yours), a tactic that received the supreme accolade in 2007 of a big Hollywood movie; the growing popularity of the re-positioning cruise spending many days simply at sea (since early in 2007, they are no longer so hard to sell); the emergence of free hospitality for young people using such websites as www.couchsurfing.com and www.globalfreeloaders.com. Have I missed any?
Write and read comments about this post.
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
