What goes up must come down, and up again, and no where is that more evident than with the state of the economy. The last two years have been turbulent in the airline industry – we’ve seen airfare wars, cheap airline tickets and the addition of new fees, as airlines attempt to recoup costs from the down economy.
But there’s good news on the horizon.
According to a report from the U.S. Travel Association, 2010 will be full of job growth and opportunity for the domestic travel market. The Association released a report that projected “modest 2010 increases in leisure, business and international inbound travel will enable the industry to add nearly 90,000 American jobs.”
“The travel industry shares President Obama’s goal of putting Americans
back to work. Our industry is uniquely capable of adapting to economic
upswings and quickly adding tens of thousands of jobs,” said Roger Dow,
president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “What we announce
today is based upon modest increases in travel. Given its immense
potential, we call on the Administration and Members of Congress to
build a plan for economic recovery that drives significant increases in
travel.”
According to the report, domestic leisure travel is expected to rise 2.0 percent, while domestic business travel is projected to increase by 2.5 percent. International travel to the United States will increase by nearly 3.0 percent.
“Projected growth in leisure travel is an indicator of rising consumer confidence and disposable income,” said Dr. Suzanne Cook, senior vice president of research for the U.S. Travel Association. “Following a difficult 2009, businesses have a heightened focus on the value and bottom-line benefits of travel. We expect to see a slight increase in business travel next year based in part on pent-up demand for face-to-face meetings that drive growth and productivity.”
What’s this mean for consumers? Good news, travelers. With more demand comes more flights, which means your travel options will open a little more in 2010. However, the basic rules of supply and demand apply here — as airlines book more seats on flights, those seats will start to cost a little more.
Moral of the story: If you see a good price for a good flight, book it!
