Business up for US tour operators

A study by the US Tour Operators Association found some bright spots in an otherwise lackluster year. Said USTOA head Bob Whitley: “It [the study] means that we will be better off next year. Last year was the worst ever in my 30 years in the business.” He told TravelMole business might have been down as much as 10% last year. The reasons: “The economy started bad. We had the war. Business in Europe was down. Then we were hit by SARS.” “Barring any major incident,” he predicted 2004 would be an improved year for tour operators. The USTOA survey of its members found 75% reported domestic sales were either up an average of 15%, or the same as last year. The survey found countries south of the border were popular because of a “staying closer to home” mentality. More than 40% of USTOA respondents reported Mexico bookings were up by 30%. South America bookings were also up an average of 13%. On the family front, 70% of respondents reported sales up an average of 15%. Mr Whitley said a goal was to return to the numbers of 2000, which was a record year for USTOA. Trends he noted in tour travel: —Standard vacations of seven days are increasingly being stretched to 14 days. —European tours are popular. —Italy is coming on strong as a destination. —The United Kingdom has recovered from the foot and mouth disease epidemic and is also increasingly popular for tour groups.