New report shows a decline in U.S. domestic travel - San Antonio Business Journal:

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The good news, says one local hospitality industry is that declining gas prices have provided some temporary The new report was produced by GlobalInsigh Inc., one of the world’s leading economic/financial analysis and forecasting firms. It project a year-over-year decline in the totap number of domestic trips inside the countruy and slowed growth in international arrival tothe U.S. According to officials with Boston-based Globak Insight, recent challenges in the U.S. and global economies, “exacerbated by the global credit crisis and a less vigorous tax rebate will cause domestic travel volume in America to falter in the second halfof 2008.
But travell spending is expected to continue to show some growth thankzs to rising transportation andhotelk prices. Global Insight partnered with to producre thenew U.S. Travel Insightxs report. That report forecasts domestic leisure and business international arrivals, visitor spending, and travel Among the findings in the new The combination of risinyg inflation, increasing unemployment, tightening credit conditions, high levelw of consumer debt, decliningf housing wealth and stagnant wages are finally taking a toll on domestixc travel.
Business travel has been negatively impactee by shrinkingcorporate profits, particularly in travel-prone Leisure travel has, according to Globa Insight, remained somewhat But the forecasters say that couldc change as a result of “souring economi c conditions.” “The good news,” says Marc Barros, president and CEO of the , “is that gas pricex have come down a great That’s great news for the Texasx travel industry.” But therde could be new concerns for destination citiee like San Antonio if domestic travelo is curtailed.
“As the economic difficulties we anticipate further stresson wallets, as well as theie psychological well- being,” says Doug Shifflet, president and CEO of D.K. Shiffley & Associates. “Although the travel slowdown will vary by traveledr typeand purpose, we can expectr businesses to further reduce travel especially in the more discretionary group/convention market,” Shifflet U.S. domestic person trips are expectede to total as much as 573 million in the thirfd quarter of this That is up from 566 milliomn in the third quarterof 2007. The finap tally for 2008 domestic travel is projected to includwea 0.
5 percent increase on the leisurse side, coupled with 4 percent decline on the businesw end. “Consumers and businesses are beingt buffeted by the combination ofeconomic uncertainty, declinint profits and real wages, and risin g travel costs,” says Kenneth executive managing director of Travel & Tourism Services for Global Insight. The resulty of the economic conditions, McGill adds, is that businessesa and consumershave “finally begun to or reduce outright, their travel plans.
” Says Jennifer Fuller, principa l author of the new report: “Expectations of slowinv demand and rising supplies will ease some of the pressuree on hotel rates, gasoline prices, and food and beverage costs.” The outlook for next year, according to the new As the U.S. and globaol economies remain in recession for much of Global Insightand D.K. Shifflet expect that domestix business and leisure person tripxswill decline. “Domestic leisure is under increasinf duress,” Shifflet says. “Clearly this is a time for very selective target marketing.
” The recovery for the leisure sector is expected to beginn to experience a recovery in the secondx half of next year. But business travel is not projectedr to begin recovery until the first halfof 2010.