Despite bargain air fares, cheaper hotels and theme park discounts, Americans and foreign visitors have cut U.S. travel spending to the lowest level since the terror attacks of 2001, new government and industry statistics show.
The U.S. Department of Commerce reported this week that travel and tourism spending dropped in 2008, and plummeted at an annualized rate of 22% in the last three months of the year.
The industry downturn -- the result of extreme consumer belt-tightening in the midst of bank failures, high unemployment rates and a worsening recession -- appears to be continuing. On Thursday, a summer airfare war began among the nation's carriers. On Friday, the state reported that 14,800 leisure and hospitality jobs were lost in February, and an airline industry group said passenger revenue was down 19% last month compared with February 2008.
In California, the bad news rippled its way through a once-thriving tourist economy, bringing with it higher hotel vacancy rates, shorter lines at amusement parks and empty tables at restaurants.
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At Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, "we've been seeing the effects of the economy last year. We are still seeing it now in 2009, and it's tied to what people are spending in the park," said Jennifer Blazey, spokeswoman for the 185-acre theme park.
Although she would not disclose attendance records, Blazey said the park has been feeling the pinch and that it was launching a new deal this weekend to attract recession-weary vacationers: For $39.99, adults gain entrance to the park, plus access to an all-you-can eat barbecue buffet with hamburgers, hot dogs and other backyard summer dishes.
Doing what they can to ride out the tough times, hotel owners, restaurant managers and other tourism businesses have responded by offering historically low prices on vacation deals.
At the Hotel Del Coronado, a 120-year-old high-end resort on the sun-splashed oceanfront peninsula near San Diego, guests can now book one night and get 50% off the second night, a deal rarely offered by one of the most luxurious hotels in the region.
"It is unusual for us," said Barry Brown, director of marketing for the 679-room hotel and the adjacent 78-room Beach Village. "It's as much a way to kick start the consumer psyche as anything. We just want to give people a reason to get away."
