Holiday travel off a bit

BY PETER BACQUE Media General News Service
Published: November 11, 2008

Dismal economic conditions may depress Thanksgiving holiday travel this year, industry figures say.

But the difficult times also are pushing travel prices lower.

How the mixed picture will play out is anyone’s guess.

The 2008 trend in Virginia and the nation on holidays has been for fewer people to travel, said Martha Mitchell Meade with the AAA Mid-Atlantic travel group, noting that the economy was stronger earlier in the year than it is now.

“Travel is down for Thanksgiving in general,“ concurred Geri Jones, president of Accent on Travel in Henrico County.

Richmond International Airport is expecting passenger traffic to be off 5 percent to 10 percent, compared with the roughly 10-day Thanksgiving air travel period last year, which came during RIC’s all-time record November.

“But it will still be a very strong holiday season,“ airport spokesman Troy Bell said.

Because the Thanksgiving period is so busy, Bell said airline passengers should plan to be in the terminal at least two hours before their scheduled departure.

He also noted that the airport’s best parking availability during the holiday period is in its garages, which are closer to the terminal — and more expensive to park in — than its economy lots. Garage parking at RIC is $12 a day, while economy-lot parking is $7 a day.

According to Jacqueline Tanzella with the Farecast online travel site, air fares nationally now average about $320 a ticket, 5 percent below last year’s price for the same period.

“This is against the trend we normally observe,“ Tanzella said.

Air travelers are more likely to find better fares, she said, if they avoid the most popular Thanksgiving itinerary: departing on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day and returning the Sunday after.

The Thanksgiving holiday period is among the busiest long-distance travel times of the year.

According to the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics, during the holiday period the number of 50-mile-or-more trips typically increases by more than 50 percent, compared with the average for the rest of the year.

Most long-distance holiday travel — 91 percent — is by personal vehicle, the bureau said. Gas prices have dropped almost by half since this summer, making driving more affordable.

The average Thanksgiving long-distance trip length is 214 miles, while the average out-of-town trip for the remainder of the year is 261 miles, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said.

The Virginia Department of Transportation will do its part to help ease Thanksgiving holiday travel by opening lanes temporarily closed for construction or maintenance work on major roadways, the agency said.

The lanes will be open from noon Nov. 26 until noon Nov. 28. Long-term construction zones with concrete barriers and orange barrels will remain in place.

Amtrak is expecting about a 5 percent increase in its ridership this Thanksgiving week over last year, growing to about 700,000 holiday passengers nationwide, said Tracy Connell, a spokeswoman for the intercity passenger rail service.

Usually, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after the holiday are Amtrak’s busiest days, she said.

Reservations are required on all of Amtrak’s trains, Connell said: “We always tell people around Thanksgiving to book as soon as possible.“

Amtrak adds trains in the busy Northeast corridor during the holiday, she said.

Greyhound Lines Inc., the largest provider of intercity bus transportation in the U.S., anticipates full buses over the holidays, said the company’s Abby Wambaugh.

But Greyhound, which does not require reservations, will bring in extra buses to handle the passenger demand.

Thanksgiving is not a busy time for the state’s hotels, said Jenifer Jackson, a member of the board of directors of the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association and general manager of the Comfort Inn in Harrisonburg.

Most Thanksgiving travelers stay with relatives, she said, and business travel drops off.

Jackson said seven Virginia and Maryland hotels in her parent company, Hospitality Hotel Group, are down 15 percent to 40 percent so far this year.

“And we really expect that to continue,“ she said. “Things look pretty grim.“

AAA releases its national travel forecast Nov. 18, Meade said, and its state prediction Nov. 20.

Because of the economic downturn this year, she said, “people are going to be choosing between their purse strings and their heartstrings.“

Peter Bacque is a staff writer at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.