DRIVEN to DEALS

By Jon Moffett

The tanking economy hasn’t grounded the travel industry.

YOUNGSTOWN — The travel industry has seen business take off despite the economy’s taking a nosedive.

“Right now, because of the economy, people are tending to be a little more conservative, but we like our vacations and we’re not going to give them up,” said Ruth Nagy, managing director of travel with AAA. “We’re in the mind-set that we work hard all year and we want our vacations, but we want to be more conservative.”

Nagy said the economy hasn’t slowed the travel industry all that much. In fact, the opposite it true.

“There are some folks out there that are realizing that airlines and cruises aren’t as busy, and there are a lot of specials,” she said. “There are people who are really taking advantage of some of the good buys out there.”

People are also taking the chance to leave when they can.

Joelene Longfield, manager of Travel Dimensions in Boardman, said there has been a noticeable increase in people booking last-minute trips.

“It’s not so much planning for next fall like it has been in the past,” she said. “A lot of people are coming in and wanting to leave in weeks.”

Longfield said the reasons for last-minute bookings are twofold. First, people are planning their vacations without much notice because they have money now and aren’t sure if they will later. Also, the weather has played a major role in the decision making.

“We’ve had a really lousy winter, and people still just want to get away,” she said.

In addition to vacations, other travel has seen an increase as well.

Kathy Pahanish, a romance travel consultant with Executive Tour and Travel in Poland, said more brides are looking to have destination weddings.

“I have booked more Hawaii trips this year than I have in the past,” she said, adding that she’s booked eight destination weddings this year. “More brides are seeing the value in destination weddings because they would rather spend four nights or more with her family than six hours.”

One of those brides, Brandy Commack, 30, of Struthers, said the appeal of a destination wedding was too good to pass up.

Commack said she and her fianc , Tony, began considering a destination wedding last summer. Despite a struggling economy, they decided to move forward with the plan. They’re going to Mexico later this summer.

“Initially our decision was made based on whether the immediate family was willing,” she said. “One of the things that made up our mind was the ability for everyone to go.”

Though traveling hasn’t experienced much of a change, the type of travel has. Both Nagy and Longfield said the destinations and modes of travel have changed slightly.

Nagy said AAA has seen an increase in driving trips closer to home.

“In the past, people might have taken a vacation that was a relaxing trip and then later on may have taken a small driving trip. This year they’re combining those into one,” she said.

She added that people are choosing motor coach trips to save money on gas and headaches about driving.

She said bus trips to Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians games and Civil War sites have become popular. She added instead of going to Cape Canaveral, people are choosing Cape Cod or Myrtle Beach instead of Daytona Beach.

“These trips make for a kind of unique day,” she said. “It’s something that people have wanted to do but might not have thought about it. And they don’t have to do the driving, so that’s a plus.”

jmoffett@vindy.com

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