So it turns out Americans are generous and good sports about trying foreign cuisine. But they receive poor marks when it comes to fashion sense, hotel room cleanliness and speaking softly.
That was the result of an Expedia Travel TrendWatch report, which asked Europeans to rate Americans.
The report also found that travelers are continuing to take trips despite negative news about travel hassles. More than two-thirds say they will travel despite negative reports.
“It’s encouraging to see that despite the tough travel environment, vacationers are still hitting the roads and skies this summer,” said Chris McGinnis, editor, Expedia Travel Trendwatch. He added:
“The tradition of summer vacation remains ingrained in the American psyche and travelers are rolling with the punches this year. They are finding some surprises like lower airfares, warm welcomes overseas and new tools like user-generated content sites to help make better travel decisions.”
Some key travel trends:
—-“Airfares to some major markets have gone down year-over-year and tighter domestic growth could mean fewer discounts in the near term, but capacity growth on international routes bodes well for shoulder-season or off-peak discounting this fall or winter,” the report says.
—-Vacationers are grappling with high hotel rates in most markets; however; savvy shoppers are relying on user generated content on sites such as TripAdvisor.com to help make wise accommodation choices.
—-Airline stress is triggering many cruise-goers to arrive in port a day early to ensure they don’t hit trouble and miss their scheduled departure times.
—-More cruise lines are offering Caribbean itineraries that start and end in the middle of the week to help avoid weekend bottlenecks at airports and in port cities.
Report by David Wilkening
