Spring break travel gets off to uncertain start
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Spring break travel gets off to uncertain start
It’s the start of the busy spring break travel season, and it’s happening as consumer sentiment has been iffy, at best.
The planner in me shudders to think this, but a lot of people right now still haven’t decided whether to travel for spring break.
“The booking windows are decreasing — so the amount of time between when people book and when they actually do the vacation, that has shrunk considerably,” said Jan Freitag, who analyzes hotel data for CoStar.
These last-minute travel decisions speak to the unease consumers are feeling, she said.
“They’re saying, ‘OK, we’re still going to go, but maybe we’re not going to go for four days. Maybe we’re just going to go for three.’ Or, ‘maybe we’re not going to fly somewhere. Maybe we’re going to drive somewhere,'” Freitag said.
Or maybe they’ll opt to hop on a cruise, instead. Pete Larkworthy is the executive vice president of sales at Infinity Research, which analyzes cruise industry data. He said that bookings are strong during this spring of uncertainty.
“There’s a pretty nice cost advantage that the cruise industry enjoys versus, you know, a trip in Vegas or Disney,” he said.
The cruise industry also benefits from recent investment in splashy new ships, Larkworthy said. “There’s always some kind of halo effect surrounding new hardware.”
Royal Caribbean last year introduced the world’s largest cruise ship — just in case you want to spend spring break with 7,000 of your closest friends.
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