US tourists seeking comfort

So-called “Comfort Destinations” are in demand these days, a trend expected to continue, according to Phil Carpenter, vice president of corporate marketing for SideStep.com. He told TravelMole: “Comfort destinations continue to be quite popular. They’re closer to home. They’re familiar to Americans and they’re not somewhere where you might encounter people who are hostile to our foreign policy.” Example of such destinations include Hawaii, Mexico, and Canada. Another trend he notes: Americans are coming back to airline travel. “Our own business is 10 to 15% below our volume at 9-11, but that’s not that off by that much when you look at how the overall economy has been,” he said. SideStep, named last year as the third fastest growing company in California’s Silicon Valley, searches more than 140 sites to provide the best air, hotel and rental car bargains. Most of its users are leisure travelers. “We make it very easy to comparison shop,” said Mr Carpenter. “We turn up a lot of options for our customers.”