Its Currency Selling at Unprecedented Low Levels, Its Drug-Related Violence Subdued, Mexico is Positioned to Enjoy Heavy American Tourism this Coming Winter
Posted on 09/30/2016, 6:15 PM
There no longer seems any doubt that the Zika scare has wrought havoc with tourism to Florida. In a study conducted by Allianz Travel Insurance, advance air bookings for the coming winter to the entire state of Florida are down by 15 percent. And bookings for specific resort cities in Florida are down by a devastating 29 percent to Miami, 32 percent to Tampa, and 15 percent to Palm Beach. S...
Though the Timid Tourist is Frightened by a Number of Adverse Travel Conditions, the Value of the U.S. Dollar is Not One of Them. The Dollar is Today Unusually Strong
Posted on 09/30/2016, 6:00 PM
Perhaps the biggest travel news of the current season is that the U.S. currency remains unusually strong against virtually every other currency. When you travel abroad in the coming months, you will enjoy lower costs at your destination for everything you buy, thanks to a mighty dollar. While the dollar's strength may have adverse consequences for American companies that manufacture goods for e...
A New Hotel Booking Engine Emerges for the "Text Only" Crowd
Posted on 09/29/2016, 12:00 PM
Today, more than ever, the medium is the message….as much as the message itself. If you have a friend (or child) who refuses to talk on the phone, but wants to have every interaction by text, you’ll know what I mean. We are a people who are being conditioned to strongly prefer some styles of communication over others. So it should come as no surprise that the booking process for hotels has n...
Depending on Whether Authorities Have Reduced the Threat of Zika, Florida Might Otherwise be an Unusually Favorable Destination for Your Winter Vacation
Posted on 09/22/2016, 12:15 PM
Florida is feeling wild this year. No state has had worse recent luck than Florida in attracting tourism, and that might create better conditions for your own trip there. First you had the terrorist attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Then you had Hurricane Hermine. In between was the devastating announcement that Zika infections had been discovered in the Wynwood Arts District o...
Here are Four Important Travel Questions and the Answers to Them Supplied by Noted Travel Writers
Posted on 09/20/2016, 2:00 PM
In Iceland, the rush is on Why is Iceland booming? (Booming, that is, in incoming tourism.) Though the figures aren't official, estimates of the growth in its visitors this year are well over 100%. Why? According to a commentator in an important travel trade magazine, it's partly because new Icelandair flights there have been added from Chicago, and Chicagoans are filling...
The Current Autumn Season is the Best Possible Time to Enjoy Bargains on Cruises and Tropical Packages
Posted on 09/20/2016, 1:45 PM
Holland America Line's Veendam We are now in a time for travel when everything costs less than it usually does. That's because from now until Christmas, travel slumps. The autumn is when cruises, flights, and hotel rooms are so lightly booked that their owners get frantic and slash the price to fill those cruises, flights, and rooms. Nothing better illustrates this patt...
Canada, Iceland, and Japan are Standouts in a Mostly Sluggish Year for Travel
Posted on 09/09/2016, 12:45 PM
They call it the "election year curse." For reasons no one can really explain, travel declines slightly during years when the presidency is at stake. Statisticians cite the figures from the last 50 years, and whenever the nationwide election comes about, travel slows down. Why? Are Americans so obsessed with the polls that they put off vacation travel? Depending on their ...
Five More States Are About to Consider the Legalization of Marijuana, Creating the Basis for a Large New Industry of Marijuana Tourism
Posted on 09/09/2016, 12:30 PM
(Credit:Vitezslav Valka/FreeImages) The statistics seem irrefutable that tourism to Colorado has benefited greatly from that state's legalization of the sale and use of marijuana. In recent surveys, large numbers of visitors have stated that it was pot that most influenced their decision to go there. And those touristic benefits are undoubtedly why Oregon, Washington, Alaska and...
Priceline Ditches Its "Name Your Own Price" Program for Airfares. What's the Real Meaning of This Move for Consumers?
Posted on 09/08/2016, 9:30 AM
When Priceline launched its “Name Your Own Price” feature for airfare some 15 years ago, the effect was electric. A major company had pulled back the curtain, letting the public in on a dirty little secret no one in the travel industry wanted them to know: that prices were always negotiable. But this week Priceline announced that it would no longer be offering bidding for airfares. Which rai...
The Fees Travelers Love....At Least for Now
Posted on 09/01/2016, 3:15 PM
Discuss the mechanics of travel with most folks and the talk inevitably turns to fees. Sometimes you can actually feel the room heating up as travelers rail against having to pay extra to choose a seat, change a flight, carry on a bag (or check one) or pony up the dreaded “resort fee" at a hotel. And the higher those fees are, the more the temperature rises. But there are a different class o...
