%26#8220;The only other option is to stay home,%26#8221; she said, and that is not an acceptable option for many Americans.
Despite the many flight cancellations in recent days, the slowing economy, rising gas prices and the weak dollar, Americans appear to be sticking to their summer vacation plans and business travelers are still being sent around the globe. The only change from last summer is the new emphasis on finding ways to cut costs.
%26#8220;Leisure travel is kind of like food and rent %26#151; it%26#8217;s considered an essential cost within a relevant range,%26#8221; said Bjorn Hanson, who follows the hospitality industry for PricewaterhouseCoopers.
By many measures, the number of people traveling set records in 2007, and those figures are holding steady so far this year. Travel agents and industry analysts report robust bookings for domestic, international and business travel. That is even true for trips to Europe, but some people are opting for destinations where the dollar goes further, like Portugal instead of Britain. And foreigners, flush with strong currencies, are traveling in record numbers to the United States.
As for business travel, Mr. Hanson says companies have cut back so much since 2000 that there is not much fat left to trim, but they are enforcing travel policies more strictly to control costs. And full flights may affect business travel in a different way: no room on the plane for executives who make last-minute plans.
%26#8220;If you decide two days before a travel date and can%26#8217;t find a reservation, travel just doesn%26#8217;t happen,%26#8221; Mr. Hanson said.
It turns out that demand for travel is less influenced by the overall economy and airport struggles than all kinds of factors not easily measured %26#151; like how much snow is on the ground, where grandpa and grandma live, and even whether a favorite football team is doing well.
%26#8220;Since the Packers made it to the N.F.C. championship, our business was slow in January,%26#8221; said Chip Juedes, director for marketing for Fox World Travel, an agency his grandfather started in 1960 that now has 14 locations in Wisconsin.
Mr. Juedes said business was flat so far this year, after years of growth, but he attributed that mostly to Easter overlapping with spring break in March, rather than having two separate travel times. The silver lining was record snowfalls throughout the state.
%26#8220;We%26#8217;ve had a terrible winter, and that%26#8217;s affected us, too %26#151; in a good way,%26#8221; he said. %26#8220;Everyone wants to get out of here.%26#8221;
Although the airlines are struggling with skyrocketing fuel prices, aging planes and calls for tighter regulation, one bright spot for the industry is that passengers are still filling up seats and booking flights.
%26#8220;We%26#8217;re concerned about a recession, but probably more in the second half of the year,%26#8221; said John Heimlich, chief economist for the Air Transport Association, pointing out that airlines have not announced widespread fare sales.
%26#8220;That to me is always a sign of an effort to stimulate traffic %26#151; and we haven%26#8217;t seen a lot of that,%26#8221; he said.
Nor have hotels been doing much discounting. Room rates in the United States were up 6 percent in 2007, to an average of $104 a night, and increased 5 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to Smith Travel Research.
Despite higher prices, especially in cities like New York, where the average rate is $270, the number of rooms sold increased 1.2 percent last year and is forecast to increase about 1.4 percent in 2008.
One factor bolstering this demand is the influx of foreign travelers. In 2007, some 57 million foreigners traveled to the United States, spending $123 billion %26#151; a record on both counts, according to the Department of Commerce.
%26#8220;Although the weak dollar hasn%26#8217;t been helpful for U.S. travel abroad, it has been quite helpful for international travelers coming here,%26#8221; Mr. Heimlich said.
Over all, airlines based in the United States carried 769 million passengers last year, an annual record.
What is surprising travel agents is that Americans are still going to Europe in record numbers, even though a cappuccino can cost up to $10 when they get there.
In 2007, 13.25 million Americans visited Europe, a 2.7 percent increase over 2006, and some industry analysts expect that number will at least remain flat, if not increase slightly, this year.
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