WASHINGTON, April 11, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- As war in Iraq begins to subside, AAA Mid-Atlantic is seeing members and other customers' interest in travel return -- with drive vacations, tour packages to U.S. destinations, and cruises to the Caribbean especially popular in the Washington region.
According to a sampling of AAA Mid-Atlantic travel agents, travel is up markedly over last year to several "hot" destinations, including the Western and Eastern Caribbean, Mexico, and Florida. And interest in trips to Western Europe, Canada, Alaska, California and other popular destinations has fallen sharply.
Nationwide, Internet Trip-Tik routings increased 4 percent last week over the prior week and are nearing their pre-war levels. The weekly AAA National Travel Barometer shows requests for online Trip Tik routings the week of March 31 reached 111,200, compared to about 107,000 the week before. Prior to the war's outbreak, online routings were 113,600.
Overall interest in travel also increased over the prior week, with 5-7 percent gains in hotel, tour package and car rental bookings. Cruise bookings continue to be slower. The pace remains behind bookings during the same period last year, however. A sampling of AAA Mid-Atlantic's sales in March 2003 with March 2002 shows:
-- Car rentals were down 52 percent; -- Cruises were down 36 percent; -- Airfare was down 34 percent; and -- Hotel bookings were down 29 percent.
"As more Americans look to resume their normal routine, it is becoming apparent that leisure travel is one of the activities that is benefiting," said Sandra Hughes, Vice President of AAA Travel. "The continuation of this trend most likely will depend on how well the war progresses and how much the economy improves within the next several months."
"The closer we get to Memorial Day, and the start of the vacation and summer driving season, the more travelers we can expect to see," said Lon Anderson, Director of Public and Government Relations. "This underscores that travel for most Americans is a well-earned chance to rest, or be with family, or escape. After the war and the stress of living at 'code orange,' and with the chill of a long winter lingering, we see a lot of clients who feel they've earned a break -- and rightly so.
"Our travel agents say the biggest change is that people are waiting until the last-minute to book trips. Many are also opting for driving vacations, especially to places that have special significance to their families or to our history," Anderson added. "And they are taking greater care in their travel decision-making -- paying less attention to the terrific deals out there than to finding just the right vacation package or plan."
The AAA Travel Barometer is based on a sample of 13 clubs representing more than half of the association's 46 million members. It is intended to help gauge the strength of the leisure travel market.
AAA, the largest motoring and leisure travel organization in North America with 46 million members, provides travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.
AAA Mid-Atlantic is the nation's fourth-largest club, with 3.5 million members in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.