If 2008 was the year of the staycation, then ’09 is bound to be the year of the naycation.One point that this column misses (and it's a BIG part of the equation) is the sudden lack of credit. It's been too easy to add vacations to whatever crazy credit people were using and now that's gone too. A great point that's made here is the airline industry greed. They've slapped on too many charges to customers and despite all of their talk about high fuel prices, take a guess what has actually increased despite decreasing prices? Joelle and I were planning to come over to DC for the inauguration but like many people, we're scaling back an already tight budget because there are too many negative signs out there above and beyond what we hear all day in the working world.
As in, nay — we’re not vacationing.
The conventional wisdom about travel is that it will slip by just a few percentage points next year. But the unconventional wisdom — supported by several troubling surveys — points to a much bigger drop.
A recent Allstate poll found nearly half of all Americans plan to cut back on travel in 2009. An International SOS survey says slightly fewer of us — about 4 out of 10 Americans — are reducing their international trips next year. And a Zagat survey says at least 20 percent of us will travel less in ’09.
But that’s just the half of it. I’ve been talking with people in the industry, who tell me — direct quote here — that travel is poised to “drop off a cliff” in January. In other words, people are telling pollsters one thing but making other plans.
Specifically, they’re making no plans.
We are doing Christmas with extended family but are still shopping around for train deals. What about you? Vacations, staycation or naycation for the holidays and into 2009?
