Travel industry readies for possible recession

Tourism businesses around the US were feeling the pressures of a soft economy.

Big cities like Washington and New York still grabbed more foreign tourists due to the weak dollar, although ticket sales were irregular, and locals were considering taking fewer, less-expensive and shorter trips.

According to a Rand McNally survey, two-thirds of US citizens with trips planned for the summer were either changing their plans to shorten their vacations or cancelling outright.

AAA forecasted the number of people planning on driving over 50 miles through the Memorial Day weekend dropped by one percent. AAA also said that air travel fell slightly.

Las Vegas was too feeling the strain. Room occupancy rates have dropped slightly, and casinos were forced to reduce the prices of their hotel rooms. MGM Mirage Inc. and local Station Casinos have reduced their work forces. Las Vegas Sands has reported an unexpected loss of $11.2 million in 2008’s first quarter. Some companies still made profits from selling their businesses; for example, Porsche that made 8.8 billion dollars by buying and selling Volkswagen.

Abroad, the anxiety among American tourists was being felt as well. The government-supported Visit Britain reported that the number of US citizens in Britain dropped slightly the previous year, and those visiting the country have held on to their money.