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China included in hot spots for Americans
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-29 06:41
While American's travel to perennial favorites like Los Angeles, Orlando, New
York and Las Vegas is always strong, some unexpected destinations -- from
Colorado and Arizona to Croatia and China -- are showing up as hot spots for
travel as the 2006 season begins.
Badaling section of
the Great Wall in Beijing.
[newsphoto/file] | China: China is No. 6 on the US State Department's list of
top international destinations for travel by U.S. residents, with 1.8 million
Americans visiting China in 2004. Those numbers include visits both to the
Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, and represent a 72 percent increase over 2003,
when travel to the region was dampened by fear of SARS.
Pauline Frommer, of the Frommer guidebooks, said that the message boards at
Frommers.com have 10 times more postings from China than any other Asian
country. "You hear more and more about people going to China and not just to
Beijing, but also to Shanghai," Frommer said. "It's a place Americans should
see. They're shaping up to be our big competitors."
"Americans want to see it before it gets to be the dominating Westernized
country," Whitley added. "You look at Shanghai -- they want it to be like Paris.
There's so much being said about the Chinese culture, and the influence it's
going to have on the world. It's very much of interest to Americans."
In addition to Shanghai, Whitley says tourists are visiting historic sites
like the Great Wall, the famed terra cotta warriors near Xian and the historic
Silk Road route.
Whitley added that concerns about avian flu have not yet dampened interest in
the region. "It's too unknown," he said of the disease, citing the lack of
official travel warnings from the World Health Organization and other
agencies.
Colorado: Colorado was tied with California and Alaska as
top domestic destinations among tour companies surveyed by the U.S. Tour
Operators Association, whose members send 11 million Americans on leisure tours
around the world each year.
"Because of the year-round opportunities there for leisure, Colorado is very
popular," said Bob Whitley, president of USTOA.
While Colorado is best-known for winter sports, some ski resorts are now open
year-round for other types of recreation like mountain biking, according to John
Metzger, spokesman for the Colorado Office of Economic Development. The state
also offers hiking, whitewater rafting, kayaking and plenty of
mountain-climbing. "We even have a wine country now -- yet another summer
attraction," Metzger said.
Arizona: American Express Vacations reports that bookings to
Hawaii are up substantially, but one of the biggest surprises domestically is a
demand for spa and golf vacations in Arizona, according to Francesca Bonavita,
the company's vice president of product and global brand development. "As a
result, we've added this U.S. destination in our portfolio for 2006," Bonavita
says.
Welness travel: The appeal of spa, golf and other types of
R&R ties into another travel trend -- the rise of "wellness" vacations that
combine fitness, yoga, massage, healthy menus and the like. "Wellness centers"
are opening in places ranging from the Aerie Resort on Vancouver Island in
British Columbia, Canada, to the Cambridge Beaches cottage colony in Bermuda.
And tour companies are offering specialty trips, like a "Healing Vacation" in
Hawaii from Well Traveled Tours, a new Boca Raton, Fla.-based company whose
trips combine sightseeing, spa visits, and health-and-fitness programs.
Justin McNaull, spokesman for AAA, says the term "wellness vacation" might be
more appealing to some consumers than a spa vacation, which "might seem a little
self-indulgent. The health and wellness side seems a little less decadent.
You're investing in yourself as opposed to pampering yourself. It's
self-improvement."
Europe: Travel to Europe has grown steadily in the last few
years and is expected to continue upward in 2006, Bonavita said, adding that the
July bombings in London had little impact on American Express bookings there.
However, projections from Britain's Office for National Statistics estimate that
U.S. visitors to England were down 4 percent in 2005 between January and October
compared to 2004.
Even with the small decrease, however, the United Kingdom will undoubtedly
remain one of the most popular European destinations for Americans. In 2004,
more Americans visited the U.K. than any other destination in Europe, followed
by France and Italy, according to the U.S. State Department's list for outbound
travel in 2004, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
But perhaps because Americans traveling to England and France make their own
arrangements but need a little advice when heading to Italy, Italy placed first
on the USTOA survey for the third year in a row. Rick Steves says it is the most
popular destination among the buyers of his guidebooks; and it is also No. 1
among European destinations offered by American Express Vacations, which has
expanded its 2006 offerings for the country to include packages in the Lakes
Region, Tuscany, Umbria and Liguria.
"It's the food, the people, the culture -- everything," said Whitley.
Americans vacationing in Europe now will also feel less of a pinch than in
the past because the dollar has gained some strength against the euro, which is
down from its 2003 high of more than $1.35 to around $1.18.
Interest among American travelers in Central and Eastern European
destinations like Prague, Krakow, Warsaw, Dubrovnik and Budapest also continues
to grow.
"Eastern Europe has been really trendy," said Steves. "Prague is the
best-preserved city in the region ... and the best beer in Europe lands on your
table there for 50 cents."
The Dalmation Coast beaches of Croatia on the Adriatic Sea are also getting
their share of buzz. "It's the cheap alternative to the Italian Riviera," said
Steves.
Montenegro, also on the Adriatic, tops the list of Travel + Leisure's
up-and-coming destinations for 2006. The magazine recommends the small country
for its "untouched white sands and time-capsule medieval villages."
Croatia was the No. 1 destination for 2005 on an annual poll taken by the
Lonely Planet guidebook company of its U.S.-based staffers. It's on the Lonely
Planet list for 2006 as well, though down at No. 4.
But Lonely Planet's new publications sometimes herald travel trends as well;
the company put out its first guide to Croatia in 2005. It's now offering its
first guide to St. Petersburg, which may be a bellwether of increased travel
there.
"Try standing on the Troitsky Bridge looking downriver to the Winter Palace
without your jaw dropping," the book advises. Other must-sees include the
Hermitage Museum and ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre.
Mexico and the Caribbean: Closer to home, because of the
impact of Hurricane Wilma on the Mexican coast, "many of the Cancun reservations
are shifting to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic as well as to Jamaica,"
said Bonavita of American Express Vacations. She said demand is also high for
other Mexican destinations like Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco and
Zihuatanejo.
New Orleans: Finally, New Orleans hopes to make a comeback.
The Mardi Gras tradition there celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2006, and the
city has scheduled a 10-day party -- slightly smaller than the two-week event of
past years -- from Feb. 18-28. Laura Claverie, editor of New Orleans Online, a
tourism Web site, says 20,000 hotel rooms are expected to be available by then,
and about half of the flights into the city will have resumed to pre-Katrina
levels. The festivities will include participation by 31 of the 34 parade
organizations that existed before the storm, and more than 700 restaurants are
expected to be open.
"It's not just a great tradition and a great social event," Claverie said.
"It's also a $1 billion industry. So coming to Mardi Gras is also a way for
people to endorse our economic development."
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