Slight uptick predicted in Memorial Day travel

by McLean Robbins on

Planning on hitting the road for Memorial Day? So are just under one in four Americans. A new survey from Deloitte predicts that 22% of Americans will travel over Memorial Day, up from the 19% who traveled in 2010.

As for the remainder of the summer months, nearly half (45%) of the survey respondents expect to take a trip between June 1 and Labor Day, which is relatively flat compared with those who traveled a year ago (46%). Furthermore, this year nearly one-third (30%) of the expected travelers plan to spend more money on this year’s summer trips than they did last year, while two in five (41%) plan to spend the same amount.

“Although industry data show overall levels of leisure travel are still below levels seen prior to the recession, our latest survey indicates that in 2011, consumers are more willing to spend on summer trips than last year,” said Adam Weissenberg, Deloitte’s U.S. tourism, hospitality and leisure sector leader.

[Flickr via ]

What might prevent people from traveling?

More than one-quarter (27%) cite lingering financial concerns while 18% point to high gas prices – a number that almost doubled from last year’s survey (10%). Higher fuel prices are not only prompting some would-be travelers to cancel their trips, but are also leading almost six out of 10 Memorial Day weekend travelers to modify or scale down their plans to offset the increased gas expense.

Concerns surrounding air travel also have some consumers altering their vacation plans, though most are not canceling plans altogether. Among the 67% of respondents who say they’ve noticed an increase in airline fees, only 14 percent have changed their summer travel destination or canceled their summer flight altogether. Additionally, more than one-quarter (26%) of survey respondents are looking into alternative means of travel other than flying due to higher airfares, additional airline or government fees, and/or security issues at airports.

“With additional costs hitting consumers in the air and at the pump, leisure travelers have no choice but to allocate additional funds towards transportation,” added Weissenberg. “In turn, they are looking to cut costs in other areas by choosing a vacation spot closer to home or curtailing spending on food and local activities.”

What about you – will you be cutting back or hitting the road this Memorial Day?

Electric Land Rover makes your safari experience even greener

by Kraig Becker on

For decades the Land Rover has been an iconic part of the classic African safari. The four-wheel drive vehicles were once the only way to travel through the rugged countryside while following the massive herds of wild animals that inhabit that continent. Soon, an electric version of the Land Rover Defender may be available, allowing for an even more eco-friendly approach to spotting animals.

At the 2011 INDABA Travel and Tourism show, which ended yesterday in South Africa, Axeon, a company that specializes in lithium-ion batteries, unveiled a concept vehicle which was co-developed with Jaguar Land Rover South Africa. That vehicle had its usual 2.4 liter diesel engine replaced with a drive system powered by an Axeon’s high-capacity battery that is designed to perform in extreme conditions and in rugged environments. Axeon says that its testing shows that the electric Land Rover does very well in those conditions, while still having three times the range of a typical game drive.

Of course, the most exciting thing about this prototype is that it has zero emissions. The standard LR Defender spews out 295 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer driven, which makes it a less than stellar performer in terms of being ecologically friendly. Considering that it is often used in some of the more spectacular, yet fragile, environments on the planet, only adds to the concern. Axeon’s model is completely carbon neutral however, which heightens its appeal amongst tour operators across Africa, many of which specialize in the ecotourism trade.

The electric Defender has an additional side benefit for travelers as well. It is completely silent, which means that it doesn’t disturb the animals on safari either. While going through a series of rigorous tests at the Land Rover Gerotek proving grounds, the battery powered version was able to consistently get closer to the wildlife than the traditional model powered by a combustion engine, something that will probably be highlighted in the travel brochures of early adopters.

While the electric land rover has been well received by tour operators, it may yet be some time before we see them in the field. Still, it is nice to envision a day in the not too distant future when travelers can take a safari that has no impact on the environments they are visiting, protecting the natural resources there for future generations to enjoy as well.

MasterCard PriceAssure offers travelers new airfare-tracking service

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Buying an airline ticket is easily one of the most confusing and costly purchases a traveler can make. There are many questions: Is the price found online the best price? Could the price go down? What does it cost to re-book the ticket if things change?

MasterCard cardholders now have a new airfare tracking tool, called PriceAssure, that may provide some assistance. What is it and should you give it a try? We investigate below.

Eligibility
Anyone with a MasterCard and a existing flight registration on any of big domestic carriers (American, Delta, United, US Airways and JetBlue were all listed when we checked) are all eligible to use the service. At this point, PriceAssure doesn’t cover international airfares.

How it Works
To start, new users need to enroll in the program by providing their basic MasterCard card details, name and an account login. After login, users have a couple options: The first is to input an existing flight itinerary and the price paid for the ticket. Gadling Labs tried out an upcoming flight that we’re taking on American Airlines from LaGuardia to O’Hare.

Once the flights are in the system, PriceAssure goes to work. It constantly monitors the current fare on your airline for the chosen dates. Should that price fall below the price you originally paid for your ticket, PriceAssure sends out an email, letting you know that you may be eligible for a refund. Interestingly enough, PriceAssure also incorporates any potential change fee you might have pay as part of the new re-booking price.

All of this, mind you, is based on the type of ticket that you have booked and what the rules are for changing that ticket (and the fees therein). If one is booked on a heavily discounted ticket with high change fees, for example, a $20 fare drop won’t account for the $150 in change fees so a refund is moot. But for a more flexible ticket or a larger price drop, the service is particularly handy.

Once you discover you’re eligible for a refund, MasterCard also offers to call up the airline for you to negotiate your refund for $19.95. You can make the call yourself for no additional charge (though the hold time and haggling with the customer service rep is up to you).
Our Take
With all the variables involved in booking airfare these days, any solution that claims to simplify the process is already a thumbs up in our book. That said, PriceAssure is likely to work best for certain certain types of travelers more than others.

If you’re a budget traveler, chances are you’re already buying heavily discounted airfares and the likelihood your fare will fall enough to save you more money is slim. Even if the price on your flight does fall, it’s not likely to be enough to offset the often hefty airline change fees attached to most deep discount tickets.

Business travelers, however, play a different game. Many of these passengers book more flexible, high-cost airfares, and for these itineraries, PriceAssure will prove quite useful. Take a test drive of the application over at priceassure.mastercard.com

Space race brings trip around the Moon by 2015

by Chris Owen on
We’ve heard of suborbital flights being booked by Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, those have been in the works for quite some time. So have various plans for a replacement vehicle for the retiring space shuttles. Now, the news about space travel brings us to the Moon with a flight around the moon available coming up as soon as 2015 says one company already in the business.

Space Adventures based in Virginia is the only company to have booked and offered commercial space travel, delivering astronauts to the International Space Station.

“The moon holds a special place in all of our hearts. It’s a symbol of the space future that humanity wishes for, a symbol of our curiosity, and something that we see every night. When the private moon mission launches, the eyes of the world will truly be upon those people, and it will truly be an extraordinary event,” Eric Anderson of Space Adventures told International Business News.

The price tag?

A round-trip for two looks to be right at $150 million.

Back in 2009, Gadling reported on a NASA focused on commercial space travel with a plan to spend $50 million of economic stimulus cash from the feds into putting the average traveler into space. Then, commercial space travel was not much more than a dream or something for a “weird news” column.

Now, as plans develop on several fronts, space travel may very well be within reach for everyday people…who have $150 million to spare.

Flickr photo by *L*u*z*A

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Belfast airport now charging for smoking

by Sean McLachlan on

Belfast International Airport has introduced a new charge. After deciding to charge people £1 ($1.64) to drop off passengers and £1 for a clear plastic bag to put liquids in, now passengers are going to be charged £1 to use the smoking areas.

Airport officials defend the charges saying it costs them extra to maintain separate smoking areas, which are used only by a minority of the passengers.

Smokers will have to insert a pound coin into a coin slot to open the doors to the smoking area. Do you think this is fair? Take the poll below or sound off in the comments section!

[Photo courtesy Piotrus via Wikimedia Commons]

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