It is clear that the British are still retaining a lively interest in their favourite long haul holiday destination, despite the credit crunch. Visit USA members are reporting that US bound travellers are still committing to their holidays Stateside, but that three distinct trends are emerging. Firstly, consumers are making enquiries much closer to their planned departure date…
It is clear that the British are still retaining a lively interest in their favourite long haul holiday destination, despite the credit crunch. Visit USA members are reporting that US bound travellers are still committing to their holidays Stateside, but that three distinct trends are emerging. Firstly, consumers are making enquiries much closer to their planned departure date than they have previously. Secondly, the number of enquiries is very high compared to the number of bookings, demonstrating that consumers are really shopping around, not necessarily to get the cheapest deal but to get the best value on offer in the marketplace. Finally, consumers are biding their time before actually confirming their booking.
In the current economic climate, none of these trends is unexpected, but it is good to know that the US still firmly features in people’s travel plans. And there are a number of positive factors working in their favour:
Travellers are still researching their holiday destination.? The Visit USA website has never been busier and continues to be massively ahead of 2008 with site visitors +350% ahead of last year and brochure requests expected to beat last year’s record total of 20,000.
Many Visit USA Tour Operator members bought the Dollar currency needed for their 2009 programmes in 2008 and therefore travellers can still benefit from last year’s exceptional rates.
Back to reality, the Pound Sterling to US Dollar? exchange rate is now running at close to $1.50, which is not so very different from the average exchange rates of the past decade, a period which saw UK travellers to the USA grow from 3.8 million in 2002 to 4.6 million in 2008.
As can be expected, US suppliers are not just sitting back waiting for? the recession to go away. They are reacting very positively to the situation by creating travel bargains and added value offers to ensure that travellers stay with their US travel plans. Airlines, Hotels, Car Rental, Attractions etc have all been sharpening their pencils and travellers will really benefit.
Major US holiday destinations like Florida, California, New York & Las Vegas have embarked upon expanded promotional programmes to attract UK travellers to their cities and beaches.
In the USA, work continues apace to get the? Travel Promotion Act through Congress and which, if enacted, should result in a substantial increase in marketing activities to attract visitors to the USA.
Peter Moss, Chairman of the Visit USA Association said “Clearly the USA continues to be high on the list of consumer’s long haul holiday options – despite the current economic backdrop. By a very wide margin, the USA is still the UK traveller’s favourite long haul holiday destination – as well as being the USA’s biggest overseas origin market. The USA has a holiday to suit every taste and budget – which is why UK travellers continue to return there in their millions every year – including 2009.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
