Alexandria, Va.: Wondering where Americans will be watching the ball drop this New Year's Travelers will be packing their party hats and heading to Florida, Hawaii, Las Vegas and the Caribbean, according…
Alexandria, Va.: Wondering where Americans will be watching the ball drop this New Year's Travelers will be packing their party hats and heading to Florida, Hawaii, Las Vegas and the Caribbean, according to an informal survey of travel agents conducted by the American Society of Travel Agents (
"Travel agents are finding that their phones are really beginning to ring again, especially for last-minute travelers looking to take advantage of the great vacation deals available now," said ASTA President and CEO Richard M. Copland, CTC. "After some very difficult months, Americans are finally ready to leave the house and have a good time, and they're more excited than ever to travel."
Other popular picks for those celebrating New Year's away from home are Disney World, the Bahamas, Arizona golf packages and cruise vacations.
"The general trend is to wait until the last minute to make New Year's plans-lots of Las Vegas, Florida and cruises, because of the great bargains," said Lila Ford of Gallery of Travel in Rochester, N.Y.
As for general travel trends, agents indicated they are seeing a higher demand for Cancun, New England, ski weekends, Caribbean cruises and destinations closer to home.
"We are still receiving a lot of calls for warm-weather destinations, but the trips are for shorter lengths than in past years – 4 or 5 nights instead of a week. We are also getting more requests for domestic destinations, such as Las Vegas, New England, Florida and Arizona. It seems that in the past few weeks people's desire to travel is coming back strong," said Kari Thomas of Will Travel, Inc., Langhorne, Pa.
Consumers looking for that irresistible bargain should consider Europe, suggested Thomas.
"Europe in the off-season is a great value. Airfares to Europe, especially England, are low and hotels are offering great prices," said Thomas.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
