Visitor spending in U.S. drops for 15th consecutive month

by Tom Johansmeyer on


International visitor spending is still heading in the wrong direction. In January, travelers coming to the United States from abroad spent only $10.3 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, a decline of 3 percent from January 2009. In hard cash, that’s a drop of $310 million.

Travel receipts amounted to $8.1 billion in January – that’s money spent on travel and tourism-related goods and represents a fall of 1 percent from January 2009. This includes food, lodging, recreation, gifts, entertainment and local transportation within the United States. Passenger fare receipts, the money spent on U.S. carriers and vessel operators, from international visitors fell 10 percent to $2.3 billion, with $300 million in spending disappearing from the same month last year.

January 2010 was the fifteenth month in a row in which spending on U.S. travel and tourism exports fell (when compared to the same month the prior year). Before the financial crisis took hold at the end of 2008, growth had increased for more than 60 consecutive months. Fortunately, the declines appear to be slowing. In December 2009, travel exports were off 8 percent.

The best airline safety announcement videos

by Gadling Staff on

Air travelers have all been there — the plane is about to take off, but first we have to awkwardly look away or bury our noses in magazines to avoid paying attention to the safety announcements. They’re the same every time, so we always know that the closest exit may be behind us. But a few savvy airlines have come up with better ways to grab passengers’ attention. From stripping down to rapping, here are some of the best airline safety announcements you’ll see on board.

Thomson Airways
British airline Thomson Airways knows that cuteness always gets attention. When a plane full of adorable kids tells you how to buckle your seatbelt, you’re sure to listen:

Air New Zealand
If cute doesn’t work, sex always sells. Take this Air New Zealand video, which encourages passengers to “take a second look” at safety — and the body-painted flight crew:

To further prove they have a sense of humor, Air New Zealand released a blooper reel of the clips that didn’t make the safety video. After all, reciting lines wearing body paint can’t be too easy:

Delta Airlines
Delta is a little more subtle with its sexy announcements — but every person in the video is ridiculously attractive, with perfect teeth and not a hair out of place. YouTube commenters have even dubbed the main announcer “Deltalina” for her resemblance to Angelina Jolie:

Virgin America
International airlines aren’t the only ones who get to have fun. Take Virgin America’s safety video, which pokes fun at the various characters found on a typical flight:

Southwest Airlines
Southwest is known for its funny flight crews. This flight attendant brings the entertainment with a safety rap:

This Southwest attendant makes announcements American Idol-style, singing a parody of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies:”

Virgin Atlantic
When in doubt, use flashy graphics. Virgin Atlantic puts passengers at ease with its calming music and intriguing animation:

BREAKING: Spirit Airlines to charge up to $45 fee for carry-on bags

by Grant Martin on

There’s big news in the airline industry today, as Spirit Airlines announced the addition of carry-on baggage fees to their already healthy roster of post-ticketing charges.

For those paying online, each carry on bag will cost an additional $30 unless you’re in Spirit’s subscription-based $9 Fare Club. Those lucky members will only be charged $20 per bag. If paying for the service in-person at the airport, the fee jumps to $45 per bag. Personal items such as purses or briefcases will continue to be free as long as they fit underneath the seat.

Although Spirit Airlines is the first carrier to initiate such a fee, there’s broad speculation among the travel community on whether it will be picked up by other carriers — checked baggage fees, paid snacks and seat selection, after all, have all been nearly universally adopted over the last three years. Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of free carry-on luggage industry wide.

On the bright side, however, there should be plenty more overhead bin space after August 1.

New baggage fees will go into effect on August 1st. You can check out more details and see whether your bag qualifies as a “carry-on” or a “personal item” over at spiritair.com.%Gallery-76818%

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Tweet and win with the Valentin Imperial Maya Resort

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Blast your thoughts in 140 characters or less, and you could find yourself under the sun in Mexico. The Valentin Imperial Maya Resort is launching a new contest, “Follow Valentin & Win,” so if you’re a Twitter ninja, this is a user you want to follow – by the end of the month.

The Valentin’s goal is pretty simple: the adults-only resort on in Riviera Maya wants to reach more than 1,000 followers. Make yourself one of them, and you have a shot at being one of the three guests to receive a free three-night stay at the resort. The Valentin will pick three secret numbers. If one of them corresponds to yours (i.e., as the Xth follower), you’ll be on the receiving end of a relaxing getaway which includes a 45-minute Primax swim with the dolphins, round-trip transportation to the resort and a DVD of your experience.

There is a catch … there always is. Each winner will be asked to keep a “Valentin Journal,” documenting the stay. These journals, along with photos and videos, will be popped onto the resort’s Facebook page, showing the experience through the eyes of a fellow vacationer.

The contest closes at the end of April, and the winners will be announced on May 3, 2010. You can follow the resort at @valentinmaya.

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Travel Trends: Online booking for travel expected to increase through 2014

by Gadling Staff on

Like much of the rest of the travel industry, online travel bookings in 2009 took a hit. Spending by consumers dipped for the first time in recent memory, from $112.9 billion in 2008 to $104.3 billion in 2009 (down 7.6%), according to a report from research firm Forrester.

However, while online bookings for virtually every segment slipped — including air travel by a punishing 7.7% to $61.8 billion (can you say, “Hello, baggage fees“?) — online car rentals fared relatively well, sliding only 2.1%, to $12.1 billion.

By comparison, hotels tumbled a staggering 9.9%, to $28.6 billion. Cruise bookings were down a modest 3.4%, to $1.1 billion. Tours were flat, but at just over $600 million, it remains a tiny sector.

Why did online car rentals hold up?
In large part, online car rentals can thank the fact that gasoline prices moderated somewhat in 2009. Cash-strapped consumers still stricken with wanderlust had good reason to hop back in their car to take trips.Gasoline prices averaged $2.03 per gallon in late March 2009, for instance – significantly down from $3.26 per gallon in late March 2008, according to the Energy Information Administration. Currently, a gallon of gasoline sells for about $2.79 per gallon, on average — still down from those spasming numbers seen on spring of 2008 but helping to explain why online car rentals are not accelerating faster.

Fortunately for each segment of the travel industry, the outlook for online travel bookings is looking good, thanks in part to the (slowly) improving economy. In fact, Forrester is projecting that overall online bookings will trend up an average 8.1% each year from 2009 to 2014, when consumers will spend more than $153 billion booking travel online. Airfare will still be the lion’s share of online bookings, though hotels will take a small bite out of that stranglehold, as evidenced by the pie charts below.

See more Travel Trends.