National News

Disability travel survey lists most popular U.S. cities

A Harris Interactive survey for the Open Doors Organization found that the top destinations for adults with disabilities were New York (47%), Washington, D.C. (45%), and Chicago (44%), edging out Orlando, Las Vegas and Los Angeles (all tied at 42%). Rounding out the top 10 destinations, in order, were San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas and San Diego. Some 40 major tourist destinations from every region of the continental U.S. were included in the survey.
Source: Travel Advance

Biz travelers still spending freely, AMEX study finds

Even though corporate travelers know their companies are monitoring their spending closely, they're still more likely to spend freely when they know the company is picking up the tab, according to an American Express survey. The survey questioned 840 employees in the U.S. and Europe who use either personal or corporate credit cards for travel spending and procurement. Almost two-thirds of American employees said their expense reports are under much or somewhat more scrutiny than one year ago, and 48 percent of the European respondents reported the same. However, 80 percent of U.S. employees and 73 percent of European employees said it was still either very or fairly common for employees to spend more freely on expenses when they know the company is paying.
Source: Travel Advance

Gasoline approaching $3 a gallon

With oil prices heading higher and fuel supply worries mounting, market watchers say that $3-a-gallon gasoline nationwide is a near certainty as the U.S. gears up for the summer driving season. "It's going to get pretty ugly. It's ugly already," said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. "We're going to hit $3 a gallon nationwide...That's the number that I'm hoping that we're going to stop at.”
Source: Travel Advance

Map sites pile on features

Visits to online mapping sites are soaring, thanks in part to improvements by Google and Microsoft. Nearly 59 million unique visitors—more than a third of all Internet users—visited mapping sites in February 2006, according to market researcher comScore Networks Inc. Viewers are being drawn by a flurry of innovations by digital map makers that expand beyond overhead satellite and aerial photography. The latest mapping features shift that perspective entirely by putting users in the middle of their surroundings, showing things at eye level. Consumers are finding a host of uses for Internet maps—for example, to locate restaurants and hotels and to get driving directions. They are also using satellite and aerial maps to determine hotels’ proximity to the beach or to see the surrounding neighborhood of a potential new home.
Source: Travel Advance

Expedia survey shows early summer bookings

Expedia introduced the first issue of its quarterly report, Expedia Travel Trendwatch, which focuses on the upcoming travel season. Travelers are planning and booking summer vacations early this year to save money and to get the vacation they want. The April Expedia.com survey revealed that 85 percent of U.S. adults who are planning to travel this summer have already booked or will book their travel plans at least one month in advance. Some 55 percent of U.S. adults plan to fly as much this summer as they did last summer, and 6 percent say that they plan on flying more despite rising airline ticket prices in 2006.
Source: Travel Advance