Silver lining to travel slowdown: Better prices

By TREBOR BANSTETTER

Oct 31, 2008

Americans will be traveling less for business and pleasure next year as the economy cools, according to a new forecast from an industry trade group.

That’s bad news for airlines, hotels, rental cars and other businesses that rely on travel. But it may have a silver lining for consumers: cheaper prices. One travel analyst suggested that the airlines have already launched an earlier-than-usual fare sale for the holidays on worries about demand.

"The airlines have traded the yearlong oil crisis for a global economic crisis," said Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com, a Dallas-based travel firm that tracks airline ticket prices. He said consumers are "pulling back as they worry about the ramifications of the downturn in the U.S. economy."

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