Battered and broke, anxious and exhausted, we are desperate for an escape from our day-to-day lives. The travel industry is bracing for possibly the worst season since 9/11. The U. N. estimates that worldwide tourism will fall by up to 2 percent this year, with the Americas and Europe hardest hit. The number of international tourists going to the United States fell 9 percent during the year ending in January, and the amount they spent fell 7 percent. The number going to Britain fell 2.6 percent in 2008, and the number of Brits traveling abroad fell nearly 9 percent in the last three months of the year. Even France - still the world's top tourist destination - saw a 3 percent drop in visitors, most of it coming at the end of the year as the crisis took hold.
But this doesn't mean the holiday has been forsaken. Studies show vacations are one of the last budget items families will cut, and many cling to time off as practically a basic human right. Instead they are traveling faster, cheaper and more creatively.
Someday soon, we hope, this whole economic nightmare will end. Private jets will return to the skies, penthouse suites will be booked solid, three-star restaurant meals will again become standard fare. Until then, it's great to know we can still enjoy a picnic on a makeshift beach.
But this doesn't mean the holiday has been forsaken. Studies show vacations are one of the last budget items families will cut, and many cling to time off as practically a basic human right. Instead they are traveling faster, cheaper and more creatively.
Someday soon, we hope, this whole economic nightmare will end. Private jets will return to the skies, penthouse suites will be booked solid, three-star restaurant meals will again become standard fare. Until then, it's great to know we can still enjoy a picnic on a makeshift beach.
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