Travel-industry experts are projecting one of the busiest summers on record. Early signs show that consumers are hitting the road in larger numbers and paying higher prices for their vacations. A strong U.S. economy is fueling the travel boom, with inflation low and consumer confidence high. The Business Journal asks:
What are your summer travel plans?
Ken Kerzner
President
Budget Rent A Car Beverly Hills
My wife is planning a week bike trip to Italy because we just came back from a four-day bike trip in the Napa Valley that we really enjoyed. I have talked to travel agents and all the cruise trips have been booked up for months. Travel is booming. It is trickling down to our business, and our business is booming as well. People are booking months in advance.
John Wallace
Press Deputy
Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe
Well, actually I haven’t booked it yet but in late August I am hoping to get down to the Caribbean. I am trying to stretch it out to the end of the summer because Don will become chairman of the Board of Supervisors in December and then we will have a lot more work. I want to be rested for the next year. I have a little more disposable income than in years past and I really haven’t taken a vacation in four years.
Kelli Herd
Screenwriter/Director
Herd Films
My travel plans are back and forth with my son carpooling to summer day camp. Then, if there’s time, I’ll be darting around the country (son in tow) to promote the national theatrical release of my film “It’s in the Water.” Most likely, I’ll be hitting New York, Texas and Florida as well as being here for the L.A. premiere. Whew!
Dr. John Grossman
Aesthetic Plastic Surgeon
Beverly Hills
My summer travel plans are a combination of a couple of things. There is the constant year-round travel between my offices in Beverly Hills and Denver. My vacation travel includes spending some time in the Colorado Rockies and a sailing trip in the Mediterranean. I would consider this year more ambitious because we’re leaving the North American continent.
Keith Malone
Director of Media Relations
LA Care Health Plan
Well, I am hoping to get to Hawaii this summer. I have been to Hawaii in the last couple of years and I love the climate. I just finished my master’s degree and I see this as an opportunity to treat myself. This is going to be a good summer. I have a little more money to spend and I am going to try to relax a bit.
Barbara Alexander
Media Artists Group Literary
I am thinking about going to Lake Louise in Vancouver. It is absolutely beautiful there during the summer. But we don’t usually travel in the summer. We travel in April or May when the kids are back in school so the crowds are a lot smaller. It is much better to travel during the off season. We are also looking forward to a trip to China in September. This is going to be a very good travel year.
