Welcome to the January 2012 Issue of Travology Today

Directravel is proud to announce that our CEO, Ed Adams, has been selected by Business Travel News as one of the 25 Most Influential Executives of the Business Travel Industry of 2011! See the full article online here.

Business travel finishes 2011 with stronger growth than expected and the industry will see steady expansion in 2012 that is greater than anticipated GDP growth, according to the latest Business Travel Quarterly Outlook – United States from GBTA, sponsored by Visa. Despite the uncertainties in the global economy, the business travel environment will remain healthy.

2011 closes with what turned out to be a stronger year than expected for business travel. Person-Trip volume is up 3.1% in 2011 Q3 while total business travel spending is up 8.3% for the quarter. Total Person-Trip volume will hit 446.5 million and total spending on business travel will reach $251.9 billion in 2011, up 2.1% and 7.6% respectively.

2012 will continue to see more measured growth as economic headwinds persist. GBTA forecasts that business travel spend will increase by 4.6% in 2012 on a slight (0.8%) decline in person-trips.

“Although the economic recovery is still modest, we see business travel remaining healthy and growing at a steady rate that outpaces GDP growth,” said Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO. “We’d like to see these record corporate profits trickle down through the rest of the economy, but as the European economy teeters on the brink, corporations remain cautious. But because business travel drives corporate growth, we should expect road warriors to remain busy in 2012.”

GBTA predicts U.S. business travel price inflation to be 2.2% in 2012, compared to price inflation of 4.3% for 2011. Lower levels of travel demand and lower fuel prices will be the leading causes of this improvement.

International Travel

International outbound business travel is expected to remain stronger than domestic travel; however, it will face new challenges in 2012. Challenges in the Eurozone will continue to plague the global economy for the foreseeable future. Additionally, there are some struggles in the developing world as many high-growth economies that have experienced strong growth over the last few years face their own challenges in 2012. The number of total U.S. initiated international business trips is expected to hit 6.8 million in 2011, a 3.2% increase over 2010, followed by 2.4% growth in 2012.

“For the last few quarters, international travel has been a bright spot in business travel, due to the higher cost of travel and the steady growth in the number of trips,” McCormick said. “However, it looks like the pressure building in growing economies will cause slower but steady growth in 2012. Road warriors should still expect to be traveling, especially as the business climate remains uneven. No company will want to risk giving up the competitive advantage of in-person meetings, as each and every sale will become all the more important.”

Group Travel

Group travel had a very strong 2011. Spending on group business travel is projected to finish up 7.6% year-over-year. However, in 2012, group travel spending will be hard-pressed to repeat that performance. Growth is expected to fall back to only 4.2%, a significant drop from the Q3 prediction. Group travel in particular will feel the brunt of the cloudy economic future.

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This month’s presidential announcement of a national strategy on travel and tourism will increase business, meetings and convention travel, restoring the U.S. as the premier destination for business and meetings travelers, according to the U.S. Travel Association.

"Travelers from emerging markets like China, India and Brazil are not just traveling for leisure,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “They’re traveling the world to purchase products at trade shows, attend cutting-edge conferences and expand their businesses. By creating a national strategy on travel and tourism that improves America’s visa and entry process, we can restore the United States as the world capital for business travel and, at the same time, make U.S. companies more globally competitive.”

Business travel is a bedrock of the U.S. travel industry and a key driver of economic growth. In 2010, domestic and international business travel within the United States generated more than $235 billion in economic spending and supported more than 2.1 million jobs. According to 2010 data from the Department of Commerce, more than 13 million (or 22 percent) of all overseas travelers to the United States came for business purposes. Among those business travelers, 2.6 million (20 percent) traveled to the United States to attend a major convention or conference.

“We’ve come a long way since 2009 when travel for business, meetings and conventions was criticized as a boondoggle,” said Dow. “The president’s call for a national travel and tourism strategy is firm acknowledgment of what our industry has known all along – that business travel is the locomotive of economic recovery. As we work with the administration to craft a national strategy on travel and tourism, the industry has my commitment that business travel, of all types, will remain a central focus.”

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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced the implementation of the passenger pre-screening initiative, TSA Pre✓™ , at its sixth pilot location – Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Certain American Airlines frequent flyers flying out of LAX are now eligible to participate and may receive expedited screening benefits when traveling domestically.

The TSA Pre✓™ screening concept enhances aviation security by enabling TSA to focus on passengers the agency knows less about and those who are considered high-risk, while providing expedited screening for travelers who volunteer information about themselves prior to flying. To date, approximately 250,000 passengers have been screened through TSA Pre✓™ at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Dallas/Fort Worth International, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County, Las Vegas’ McCarran International and Miami International airports.

“The expansion of this pilot program continues to move TSA towards a more effective and efficient security system,” said Assistant Administrator Chris McLaughlin. “This program enables us to focus our resources on those passengers who could pose the greatest risk – including those on government watch lists – while providing expedited screening, and perhaps a better travel experience, to those we know the most about.”

Eligible passengers include those flying on participating airlines as well as members of Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Trusted Traveler programs, including Global Entry, SENTRI and NEXUS, who are U.S. citizens. TSA will continue expanding TSA Pre✓™ to additional airlines and airports once they are operationally ready.

If TSA determines a passenger is eligible for expedited screening through the TSA Pre✓™ vetting process, information will be embedded in the barcode of the passenger’s boarding pass. TSA will read the barcode at the checkpoint and the passenger may be referred to a lane where they will undergo expedited screening, which could include no longer removing the following items:

• Shoes
• 3-1-1 compliant bag from carry-on
• Laptop from bag
• Light outerwear/jacket
• Belt

TSA will always incorporate random and unpredictable security measures throughout the airport and no individual is guaranteed expedited screening. TSA’s multi-layered approach to security also includes behavior detection officers, explosives-detection systems, canine teams, and federal air marshals, among other measures both seen and unseen.

For more information about TSA’s risk-based security initiatives, visit www.tsa.gov.

The U.S. hotel industry is expected to report steady RevPAR increases in both 2012 and 2013, according to the most recent forecast from STR, in partnership with Tourism Economics.

Overall in 2012, the U.S. hotel industry’s occupancy is expected to rise 0.5 percent to 60.4 percent, its average daily rate is projected to be up 3.8 percent to US$105.45 and its revenue per available room is planned to increase 4.3 percent to US$63.68.

“2012 may prove to be challenging for the U.S. hotel industry,” said Randy Smith, co-founder and chairman at STR. “There are a number of issues that will confront the industry and overall economy this year. We believe that given how well the hotel industry did during 2011, it will be difficult in 2012 to show significant growth. However, we remain optimistic the industry will continue to report modest increases in 2012.”

Supply in 2012 is expected to rise 0.8 percent and demand is projected to increase 1.3 percent.

"The economic environment remains turbulent as we move into 2012,” said Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics. “While the U.S. economy is showing signs of sustained growth, the recession in Europe and a slowdown in emerging markets will dampen lodging performance. Given the strong room demand experienced in the past two years, we expect modest demand growth of 1.3 percent, while rates continue their long climb back to prior peaks with growth of 3.8 percent."

The forecast for 2013 includes:

• a 0.5-percent increase in occupancy to 60.7 percent;
• a 4.4-percent rise in ADR to US$110.06;
• and a 4.9-percent growth in RevPAR to US$66.81

In 2013 supply (+1.4 percent) and demand (+2.0 percent) are both expected to report growth.

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Information filed with BTS (bureau of Transportation Statistics) shows that the 16 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 85.3 percent in November, up from the 83.2 percent on-time rate of November 2010 but down slightly from October 2011’s 85.5 percent rate.

Cancellations

During November, the carriers canceled 0.7 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, equal to November 2010’s 0.7 percent cancellation rate and down from October 2011’s 0.8 percent.

Chronically Delayed Flights

At the end of November, there was one flight that was chronically delayed – more than 30 minutes late more than 50 percent of the time – for two consecutive months. No flights were chronically delayed for three consecutive months or more. A list of flights that were chronically delayed for a single month is available from BTS (www.bts.gov).

Causes of Flight Delays

In November, the carriers filing on-time performance data reported that 4.90 percent of their flights were delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 4.60 percent in October; 4.72 percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 4.60 percent in October; 3.97 percent by factors within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared to 4.03 percent in October; 0.26 percent by extreme weather, equal to 0.26 percent in October; and 0.03 percent for security reasons, equal to 0.03 percent in October. Weather is a factor in both the extreme-weather category and the aviation-system category. This includes delays due to the re-routing of flights by DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration in consultation with the carriers involved. Weather is also a factor in delays attributed to late-arriving aircraft, although airlines do not report specific causes in that category.

Data collected by BTS also shows the percentage of late flights delayed by weather, including those reported in either the category of extreme weather or included in National Aviation System delays. In November, 37.39 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, up 17.88 percent from November 2010, when 31.72 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, and up 16.99 percent from October when 31.96 percent of late flights were delayed by weather.

Detailed information on flight delays and their causes is available on the BTS site on the World Wide Web at http://www.bts.gov.

Mishandled Baggage

The U.S. carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 2.72 reports per 1,000 passengers in November, down from November 2010’s rate of 2.91 but up from October 2011’s rate of 2.71.

Consumers who want on-time performance data for specific flights should call their their travel agent. This information is available on the computerized reservation systems used by these agents. The information is also available on the appropriate carrier’s website.

The Air Travel Consumer Report can be found on DOT’s World Wide Web site at http://airconsumer.dot.gov. It is available in “pdf” and Microsoft Word format.

Please note: United and Continental are continuing to work towards migration to a single reservation and passenger service system with a targeted implementation date of March 3, 2012. With this in mind, passengers booked on any United or Continental flight for March 3^rd may experience delays or disruptions as they combine their reservations systems.

Air Canada announced that it will launch triple-daily, non-stop flights between Toronto Pearson and New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport beginning May 3, 2012 and increase to hourly its flights to LaGuardia Airport…The codeshare agreement between Air France and Air Mauritius has been expanded to include flights between Mauritius and Reunion Island. This expansion increases options for passengers travelling to and from these two popular Indian Ocean destinations. …American Airlines announced changes to its spring and summer schedule that will expand the airline's presence in Brazil. Beginning in December, American's route between Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and Sao Paulo (GRU) will operate with the new state-of-the-art Boeing 777-300ER, making Brazil the first market for the new aircraft. Further emphasizing American's commitment to Latin America, the airline will increase its service between DFW and Sao Paulo beginning in June.… Delta Air Lines and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration have launched the fourth joint TSA Precheck location at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. TSA’s Precheck program is a passenger prescreening initiative that allows selected travelers the ability to expedite screening for domestic travel…

The United States Government has posted recent travel advisories and warnings for

Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d’lvoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of), Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Republic of South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

Cruising Europe

No matter how much time you have, there will always be something to go back and see…

Europe offers so many things to do, and best of all, you have the option to see them on your timeline and via your preferred mode of transportation. What is more romantic than cruising from along the Mediterranean, or an exciting River Cruise along the Danube?

Europe offers classic architecture, delicious foods, art, music and so much more. You can journey from port to port or combine a cruise and tour together, which will give you additional time to explore.

A great way to start is with Celebrity Cruises. Explore the cradle of civilization. Learn the enchanting history of Greek gods and goddesses. Visit the ancient sites where powerful politicians such as Julius Cesar ruled through peace and war. Experience local traditions that have inspired artists, poets and travelers over the years. From glorious cathedrals, to stunning masterpieces, to architectural marvels, a Celebrity Cruises European vacation will take you far from the ordinary.

For example, Celebrity offers a Greek Isles cruise that departs from Barcelona, Spain, and includes stops at Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy; Naples/Capri, Italy; Mykonos, Greece; Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey; Santorini, Greece; Athens (Piraeus) Greece; Valletta, Malta and returns back to Barcelona. Onboard you'll stay in airy spaces with all the right tasteful details, dine in restaurants where the ambience is just as important as the cuisine, experience intuitive service with a keen eye for detail and do as much or as little as you choose.

For more information on this, and other cruise experiences, and on the exclusive benefits we can provide as a Centurion Agency and the American Express Pay with Points program, please contact one of our leisure travel specialists at vacations@dt.com.