Terrorist bombings in Madrid, London, and Egypt are expected to have minimal impact on future sales of tours and vacation packages…
Terrorist bombings in Madrid, London, and Egypt are expected to have minimal impact on future sales of tours and vacation packages, according to an informal member survey conducted by the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA).
When asked whether the Madrid bombings last year had affected 2005 travel bookings to Spain, 75% of respondents said the bombings had no effect, while 25% acknowledged a minor decrease in sales.
Likewise, regarding the London bombings last summer 70% of responding USTOA members claimed no immediate effect. The long-range outlook, however, was positive, with 82% of USTOA respondents saying the bombings would have no effect on London sales going into 2006.
While 78% of USTOA respondents claimed the summer bombings in Egypt had no effect on their bookings to that country, when asked about future tour and vacation package sales, they were slightly less positive: 64% claimed the bombings would have no effect going into 2006, while 36% said bookings would be affected.
The USTOA survey was based on a sampling of 28 member companies serving Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. USTOA members account for the vacations of more than 10.7 million people yearly.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
