Vacation travel rebounding

Vacation travel is officially up over the same time last year according to the 2007 Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associates Fall Travel Trends Survey. While the top overall domestic and international destinations -- Las Vegas and Caribbean cruising -- remain the same, the big news is that the number of travel experts reporting an increase in overall bookings for the year is up by nearly 4 percent to 59.5 percent. In addition, despite the extremely strong euro, Rome and Mediterranean cruising continued to climb the annual fall list with Rome coming in at number three while Mediterranean cruising jumps seven spots.

A growing number of Carlson Wagonlit travel experts say a majority of their customers have a valid passport. This fall that percentage is 46.3 percent, up from 44 percent in January and 31.7 percent in August of 2006. Also, an astounding 77.9 percent indicated that a majority of their cruise customers have a valid passport. That bodes well for the next passport deadline, which could affect cruise passengers to Mexico, Caribbean, etc. as early as January 2008. Mediterranean cruising was the "big winner" in the rankings, jumping from 12th to 5th place on the list of top 10 international destinations. The biggest drop was registered by Ft. Myers, Fla. Last year it ranked eighth in the fall survey, but this year it dropped eight spots to 16th place.

The survey was conducted July 24-Aug. 17, 2007 and includes information from 390 Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associate agents, owners and managers.

Be kind to your travel agent & get out of town!