When it comes to travel, is the sky really falling? You might be forgiven for thinking so after reading headlines like Airline downsizing means U.S. holiday travel overhaul, above a story that predicts air travel is about to plummet off a cliff.
Or, Belts tighten on holiday air travel, which warns that, “if you’re only now trying to book a flight for Thanksgiving, your goose might be cooked.”
Well, here’s a headline you can print: The sky isn’t falling.
In fact, as I pointed out in a recent column on MSNBC, this could be the best holiday travel period since 2002. Expect lower prices on everything from air fares to hotel room rates, smaller crowds and a more pleasant overall experience.
So what’s with the doom-and-gloom headlines?
As someone who has worked in a newsroom and watched the news cycle ebb and flow, I can make an educated guess about what’s happening. Editors who only pay attention to travel a few times a year — Thanksgiving, Memorial Day and Fourth of July — are looking at the Wall Street meltdown, and thinking, “Well, this must be affecting travel.”
They’re right about that. A bad economy means the travel experience could actually improve.
Instead, these easily-distracted managers are sending their reporters out on assignment to write the opposite story. That record high prices will keep people at home for the holidays.
Too bad they’re wrong.
