Will upstart Arrow cut into venerable Deuce?

Will upstart Arrow cut
into venerable Deuce?

LAS VEGAS — Move over, Deuce. There’s a new bus in town.

After two years of driving tourists up and down the Las Vegas Strip for $2 each way, the regional transportation authority’s double-decker Deuce bus is getting some new competition.

Vegas.com, the travel and booking Web site owned by the Greenspun Family of Companies, launched its “Arrow,” a high-tech alternative that goes door-to-door to hotel-casinos on the Strip and downtown and costs $2.50 per ride. For $10, passengers can ride the bus and Las Vegas Monorail all day.

Vegas.com chief executive Howard Lefkowitz said the service, which runs morning to midnight, is expected to carry 2,000 to 5,000 tourists a day.

In comparison, the Deuce carried about 30,500 a day last year, while the monorail took about 24,500 a day in the third quarter.

Holiday travel involves
more families and details

NEW YORK — More family travel and more complicated itineraries are two trends for holiday travel reported in a survey of 680 American Express Travel Agents and Platinum Travel Specialists across the country.

Eighty-three percent of agents said their clients are looking for new experiences and destinations and 59 percent said customers are booking more complex and customized itineraries than in years past. Fifty-six percent are booking more upscale vacations than in the past.

The agents reported that travel with children is up too, but these folks aren’t going to grandma’s house for hot chocolate. The relative affluence of clients who book with American Express is evident in two trends: 56 percent of agents say that traveling families are increasingly bringing nannies along and all Platinum Travel Villa Specialists said that requests for private villas are up this holiday season.

Some ski destinations
to not overlook this year

NEEDHAM, Mass. — Jay Peak in Westfield, Vt., Solitude Mountain in Utah’s Big Cottonwood Canyon, and Schweitzer Mountain in Sandpoint, Idaho, are among 10 “overlooked” ski destinations recommended by the travel Web site TripAdvisor.com. The Massachusetts-based Web site says these mountains offer less expensive lift tickets, and more affordable lodging and nightlife than more famous resorts.

Also on the list are Cannon Mountain, Franconia, N.H.; Durango Mountain, Durango, Colo.; Taos Ski Valley, Taos, N.M.; Diamond Peak, Incline Village, Nev.; Big Mountain, Whitefish, Mont.; Saddleback Mountain, in Rangeley, Maine, and Gore Mountain near Lake Placid, N.Y.

Travel watchdogs expect
extended holiday season

NEW YORK — With both Christmas and New Year’s Day falling on Tuesdays this year, the Expedia.com Travel Trendwatch predicts that the peak season for holiday travel will be longer than usual. The report from the Web site also says the 17-day period for most travel will begin Dec. 20, and run through Jan. 5.

While not everyone can stay away from the office that long, Expedia says it’s good news for travelers because crowding may be spread out over more days than in other years, with folks choosing among various dates before and after the actual holidays for their arrivals and departures.

Those looking for travel bargains will want to hunt for deals before and after the holiday periods — the first two weeks of December and the first two weeks of January, when the majority of travelers stay put.

Associated Press