Now that summer is officially winding down, many families may use a brand new word to describe their 2008 holiday: “staycation.” With the prices for gas and oil sitting atop a high plateau, travel plans have taken a back seat to penny-pinching and extravagant summer plans have been pushed aside for more modest destinations much closer to home. While the staycation may not be the next big thing in travel, it will have a very real application in the coming years until prices adjust.
The U.S. average for gasoline is $3.68 a gallon as of Sept. 1, according to the Energy Information Administration, and while that price has declined slightly since the month of August, Americans are still feeling the squeeze.
A return to traditional family activities may accompany the rise of the "staycation"
Thus enter staycations into the mix. Rather than a weeklong vacation to a distant destination, a staycation is a weekend trip or even a day trip to a location close to home, such as a day at the local aquarium or a camping trip at the nearest beach. Staycations take only a little bit of sensible planning and an imagination to achieve.
Of course, rising prices at the pump aren’t the only reason the travel industry has taken a large hit this year. One of the leading factors in the staycation movement is the feeling that prices will begin to go down in a year and by avoiding the expensive trip this summer; things will look that much better in 2009. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, increases in the costs of air travel and food—also tied to higher fuel prices—have been other significant factors in declining travel. Couple this with August traditionally being a slow month for travel agents and you have one more slumping industry.
According to MSNBC, choosing a staycation over a longer trip may present a psychological hurdle to consumers who think that a great vacation demands a more exotic or fancier destination. However, just realizing that one need not spend money at every little stop is one way to make a staycation that much more attractive and enjoyable.
Of course, Americans aren’t the only ones saving cash by sticking around their hometowns. Across the pond, Europeans are doing the same. Coming off what was called a “disastrously wet summer in 2007,” according to the Times Online (U.K.), agencies in Great Britain and other European countries were hoping for an increase in tourism and travel in 2008. Unfortunately, much of what is plaguing the U.S. economy is having a similar effect in Europe. British families are opting for weekend or day trips as opposed to expensive weeklong getaways. While bookings at many traditional tourist destinations have remained high, the industry is growing increasingly nervous that a prolonged uncertain economic situation will result in cancellations, according to the Times Online (U.K.).
However, not all of the hospitality industry is suffering. In the state of Michigan, for example, local hotels and motels are seeing patronage similar to levels seen in the summer of 2007, meaning local residents aren’t going far to get away, according to the Flint Journal. Local economies are getting the biggest boost from staycations, as people begin to re-explore the cities and surrounding areas in which they live.
One tip to maximize any staycation, according to MSNBC, is to avoid the tasks of daily life or around the house and get out and explore your area as if one were a tourist, not a resident.
Investors looking toward emerging tourist destinations may need look no further than their own backyard to capitalize on staycations. Predicting how long this trend may last is dependent on a number of factors, such as the future prices of gasoline and oil, food and travel costs.
