With international travel struggling and some tourists delaying domestic travel, Las Vegas seems to be establishing itself as one of the best places in the U.S. to escape for days at a time, travel agencies say.
These prospects are consistent with the NCAA basketball tournament, the opening of Celine Dion's "A New Day" show, and minimal cancellations of visitors continuing to pack strip coverage for various regular draws, and reports from local casinos about near-full hotel rooms.
It is also breathing a sigh of relief from some in the travel planning industry, which has suffered a series of setbacks in the stock market, economic uncertainty and the public who book trips on the Internet.
Reached nationwide, travel agencies say that customers who have already booked trips to Las Vegas are hardly backing down. A harder thing to gauge whether future businesses will stop as people decide to put their travel plans on hold is whether they will stop. "We haven't really had a lot of cancellations ... but we haven't seen a lot of future bookings either," said Mike O'Malley, owner of Diplomart Travel
In Chicago.
However, recent trips to Las Vegas have increased as some people have given up traveling abroad for a shorter period of time, which is closer to home, he said. He added, "There is so much uncertainty in the world that it is making people hesitate to make big trips."
The trip to Las Vegas is also set for Betty McLean Travel in Naples, Florida. "My sense is that people don't feel any problem with traveling within the United States," said Betsy Patton, a travel agency employee. "We have a lot of very sophisticated travelers and they're going to travel and there's nothing to stop them. Others really want them to travel but maybe they want to stay in the United States instead."
Reservations for agents affiliated with the American Tour Operators Association, a New York City-based trading organization that ranks Las Vegas as the most popular tourist destination, are falling nationwide.
Ellen Sinkes, a representative for Gateway Travel in Newark, New Jersey, said, "Some travelers won't just fly if they feel scared." But the majority don't seem to disturb the war. "No one calls to say they don't want to go to Vegas. The people of Vegas are brave. They just want to go out there and gamble and have fun as soon as possible. And I don't blame them."
There are some good indicators for wealthy travelers to Las Vegas, which remains the top resort in the U.S., agents say.
According to a reader survey by Condé Nast Traveler magazine last month, 97 percent of the respondents said they would not stop traveling because of the war, and 42 percent said the war would not affect their travel plans. Another 38 percent said they would change their destinations, while 38 percent said they would travel more from the U.S. than from abroad. In a second reader survey conducted just before the war by Travel and Leisure, another publication read by luxury consumers, 92 percent said they planned to travel domestically in the next six months, and 87 percent said they had no plans to change it.
According to a survey of agents last week by Virtuoso, a Four Worth-based network of more than 250 agencies targeting high-end travelers in North America, more customers are making short domestic trips rather than traveling to destinations such as Europe or Asia.
"This could be a big strength for Las Vegas to get a bigger percentage of the business," said Keith Waldon, a spokesman for Virtuoso. 안전한 파워볼사이트
The company's wealthy customers are also unaffected by the soaring economy, which is damaging other sectors of the market," he said. "We're a little bit more bulletproof. One of the most important things in their lifestyle is leisure travel. Dedicated travelers want to keep their lifestyle going."
The economy is listed on the radar screen of Michael Treptow, owner of Travel Partners International in San Francisco.
"People just don't have money," said Treptow, who has reported dozens of layoffs in the region as high-tech companies shrink amid a slow economy. "A lot of people are losing their jobs. There are more 'for rent' signs than I've seen in a decade."
"It's still considered a good value, especially if people can travel during the week. I can find a two-night package for $350."
Local agencies that accommodate tourists say they don't feel challenged either. "We're booking 50,000 rooms a month in Las Vegas and our business is still nowhere near the bottom," said John Berman, director of leisure sales at Prestige Travel. "We've only had very minimal cancellations because of the war. I wouldn't even call it a mistake."
Berta Steinberg, president of Century Travel in Las Vegas, also didn't see many cancellations. She said it was harder to gauge short-term demand because many flights into town for spring break visitors had already been booked months in advance.
"Others are watching the situation," she said. "There are a lot of last-minute bookings. People don't have any long-term plans." "Travelers still want to find deals regardless of the global event.
In the travel and leisure survey, 62% of readers said that discount rates by airline and resort would encourage them to travel now.
Travel discounts have sent many tourists back to the strip since Sept. 11. New York City has always had a reputation for striking real deals, but agents say this time it may be harder than expected.
"With this war, weekend travel is still much harder to book and the fact that prices remain high during certain weeks marked by conventions and other events over the coming months has not changed," said Treptow.
Patton said that the Mandalay Resort Group's Circus Circus Casino in southern Florida is advertising for a $39 room. "People are definitely going to jump into it," she said. Still, many others are attracted to less expensive properties these days.
"People want to stay in those beautiful hotels and new properties. It's still a popular destination, but in terms of price, it's on par with theme parks like Disney World, which is pretty expensive."
Tourists already in Las Vegas have mixed feelings about having a good time last week. During Dion's opening performance Tuesday, some visitors at Caesars Palace's casino said the war was not included in their travel plans at all.
Brian Stifora and his wife, Dorothy, from Calgary, Canada, have traveled the West for the past few weeks and recently made a stop in Las Vegas. "We check the news every morning, but the war hasn't changed our vacation," Stifora said.
He also expressed surprise at how few Americans seemed to be adjusting to the war. "I would have expected more patriotism, especially after 9 to 1 to 1. I was surprised. The general public cares about their work." Others said the war has dampened their experience.
Tracie Stauffer, from Colorado, planned a trip to Las Vegas a few months ago, and would not have her money back if she had canceled ahead of the war.
Still, Stauffer said he now feels guilty for letting people go abroad while they were being killed. "I feel bad about sitting at home, even though I have nothing to do."
Carolyn Lowe, who lives in Paris, Texas, was downtown with her husband, Jerry, who was attending a surgeon convention. Lowe said she felt some regret about the trip and felt uncomfortable being at a popular tourist destination that could fall victim to a terrorist attack. "I listen to the news for hours every day," she said. "It bothers me that we're in a primary target area."
The travel industry was almost shut down after Sept. 11, and security concerns continued to plague businesses for months afterwards.
Paul Tarlow, a tourism and security expert based at Texas College Station, said, "This time, the majority of Americans are likely to continue to travel cautiously unless terrorist activity occurs on American soil."
Tarlo said the history of gambling in organized crime has led to the casino industry, which currently ranks highest in the hotel industry for its expertise in security measures. In addition, Las Vegas is more isolated and difficult to access than Southern California, for example, with a lower density and more concentrated adult population, and tourists are comfortable traveling to Cynthia, he said.
Whether they are receiving messages is another matter, he said.
"It's not hard to do. But it's a question of whether you're living under an old paradigm that doesn't talk about it. This is something that should be advertised and utilized."