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Travel Industry Association of America 1899 L Street Telephone Nor~hwesl 202 Washington. D C 293-1433 20036 Dear TIA Member The attached interview, "Last-Minute Tips for Your Summer Vacation," featured TIA President Bill Toohey in a recent issue of U.S. News and World Report, a newsweekly magazine with 9 million readers. This is an excellent example of TIA'~ ongoing efforts to provide comprehen- sive travel information to travelers and the media. Edward R. Book National Chairman T!03760025

NewsLine Special Reprint Interview With William D. Toohey, Travel Authority Last-Minute Tips for Your Summer Vacation Even a prolonged recession won't stop many Americans from taking a break in coming weeks. A noted expert suggests some places to go, how to travel and ways to squeeze the most from your entertainment dollar. Q Mr. Toohey, will more people be traveling this summer? A We expect travel volume--trips per person--to be up 4 percent over last year's summer season. About 35 percent of all Americans plan to take a vacation trip sometime from May through Labor Day. O. Why such an increase during a recession? A The recession really began last summer, and a lot of people have decided to travel this year even if their in- come prospects are not good. Wc're coming off a long and hard winter, and there's a lot of pent-up desire to get out and travel. O, Are vacationers going to take shorter trips and travel closer to home? A Not necessarily. A survey by the U.S. Travel Data Center shows that many people will actually be taking longer trips. A big reason may be that gasoline will be readily available everywhere and it will be less expensive than last year. About 80 percent of all travel in this country is by private car. (~ Aren't gas prices going to start creeping back up? A Yes, but it took a year for the prices to fall about 20 cents a gallon, and it will be a while before they reach that high again. O. Do you expect highways to be more crowded? A Ir~ some cases. Traffic will be heaviest on holiday week- ends, of course. You will find less congestion in the early part of the week than in the later part, such as Friday afternoon, when traffic may be especially heavy near metropolitan areas. It's always wise to get the majority of your automobile travel done by early afternoon and then use the balance of the day for sightseeing. You should usually try to arrive by 6 p.m. to be certain that your room is available. O. What advice would you give on planning a sum- met trip? A There are three basic rules to follow: One, give yourself sufficient advance planning so that you really can work out your itinerary. Second, take advantage of the really enor- mous amount of professional printed material that's available without cost. Every state travel office, for example, is anxious to send and there are about 18,000 trav- el agents across the country ea- ger to give travel advice. Third, make your reservations as early as possible so that you can take advantage of the great number of bargain fares and travel services. Be- cause of the recession, there are probably more discount- Copyright @ 1982, U.S.News & Wodcl Report, Inc. ed fares and travel bargains avail- able this summer than there ever have been. O. How would you go about getting information on the travel facilities In a particular state? A Just address a letter to the state travel bureau, identi .fy the state gov- ernment and send it to the capital city--for example: "'Director of Tourism, Michigan Travel Bureau, Lansing, Mich." If you're interested in information on cities, say in the letter, "Please send me the address of the convention and tourism bureau" for the particular city. About 20 states also have toll-free numbers you can call. Gall (800) 555-1212, the 800 information number, and ask for the travel.office of the state you want. CI. If you are traveling on your own, what is the best way to find out about the World's Fair in Knoxville? A The best bet would be to write to the Tennessee Department of Tourism in Nashville. Also, there are phone numbers for accommodations. For hotels, motels and cha- lets, call (615) 971-1000; for campgrounds and recreational vehicles, call (800) 251-9610; for houses and rooms in pri- vate homes, call (615) 971-4460, and for apartments and condominiums, call (615) 971-4400. Prices for hotels and motels start at $60 per night for a double. Most campground accommodations range from $12 for a tent space to $29 for a full hookup. Private-lodging costs start at $23 per night for one room, and apartment and condominium costs start at $50 per night. I~ How much does It cost to go to the fair? A Prices for the fair itself range from $8.9~5 to $9.95 per day, depending on age. Plane fares vary, but a sample one-way plane fare coach class from Chicago to Knoxville would be $157. Greyhound is offering a package for one day at the fair with fair tickets and round trip from Atlanta at prices for children of $27.50 and $47 for adults. Trailways offers similar service, but you have the option of buying fair tickets from them or at the gate. There are 15,000 bus charters to the fair from hun- dreds of U.S. cities, including many in the Northeast. O. Are Knoxville's highways and hotels overflowing? A There has been a lot of advance speculation about congestion at the fair, but it has been disproved in the opening weeks. There have been accommodations avail- able, although I'm sure they'll get more congested as the summer goes on. It's good to make plans now. Q What other areas will draw crowds this summer? A Walt Disney World and Disneyland and all of the national parks are always popular. There are a lot of new amusement and theme ~:-'% parks: Mud Island at Memphis, Tenn.; Arne's Fun- .r land in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Atlantis--the Water Kingdom in Hollywood, Fla., and Sesa- me Place located in Irving, Tex. Q Would you cite some attractions that are often overlooked? A There are a lot of great experi- ences in the American West. River REPRINTED FROM U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, JUNE 21. 1982. FURTHER REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED. T103760026

"We're coming off a long and hard winter, and there's a Io! pent-up ,desire to get out and travel." rafl.in~..rod ~Idorness trek~ appe,d tc p~.,q)l~', yet .,r~" Also, the ~tion's m~jor cilies ar(, the, rep~sitory o~ the o~chestras and zoos that man~ people ten~l to forget about. ~ Will CulbaCk~ in the air-lraffi¢-~ontrol system have a signif- icant effeel on the availabili~ of airline seats? A Th,, e~,('ts o[ the eon~rollers" ~trike are r~':i]ly still with us to a degree. [t will b~ more difficult thi.~ summer because [he airlines anticipate ~hcy wil] be operating only 90 per- cent of their normal ~ights even by September. That the question of advance boo~ing even more important. O How does a Consumer shop for air-late bargains? A About ~0 percent o~al] tJe[ets written carry some sorl, o~ discount. You e~n get sonde good prices where there is hi,h-density travel. The best bargains are on transcontinen- tal trips and on flights to V]orid~ and Hawaii. Se~ting may be [imitod, so it is best to check with a travel agent nr the airline for de~ails. ~ What are some examples of airline discounts? A These fares change almost weekly, but several major carriers ~['[~r a eoas[-to-eoasl .~8 round-trip air ~are. flow- ever, ~res on many carriers jump to $~38 on June [8. Some also offer ~ "'kids ~y free" de~] ~rom ~ew ~ork and Washington, D.~., to ~lori~a, i~ which anyone under ~Jes ~ree when traveling wi~h ~ults who pgy full co~ch [~re~ustm]ly aronnd Sg()0 round trip. Between ~os Ange- les and ][await, several carriers ~re offering a special $]g0 Fare o]~e way between June [4 a~d July [5, many re~uirin~ midweek ~eparture. Bepublic Airlines offers a "'kids ~y free" trip to people who collect five Ba]ston-~urina cereal prool~ o~ purchase. [t is best to act now because some these l~ires may go up later in the summer. Q l~n't alr servlCe to le~s traveled places spotty? A Airline deregulation is still i~ ~ state of ~ux, and result some rural-oriented states now have less m~jor-~ir- carrier service. But new commuter airlines ~re coming on strealn all o~ the lime, ~nd that may ease lhe problem. ~ In lourlst area~, are there ~pe~ial deals avallable ~ombin- in~ plane and other forms of A This year. there wfl[ probably be more of these p~ek- ages available than ever before. The low transcontinental air ~ares combine~ with a rent-a-ear at the destination~say, California ol New Yo[k~ffer exceptional bargains. There are hus linkups, too. Trailways, fo~ example, has an ment ~4th USAi~ that permits i~ passengers to Dallas, San Antonio, Austin or ~ouston to buy a bus ticket for up to seven days of unlimited travel al $34.95 per person. USAi~ will evei~ boo~ roozz~ at ~amada [nns there, ffyou want t~em to. A This su~er the~e wi~ be mo~e l~ous bi]eve] per]iners, which are supposed to be a good, comfortable way of t r~vel. There are lines t~l sla~t in (~icago and go to ~at- NewsLine Special Reprint fie, San Francisco and Los Angeles and back. Also, there are Superliners along the West Coast and from Los Angeles to Phoenix, Houston and New Orleans. A sample fare from Denver to Los Angeles is $165 one way. In addition, there are suites with bedrooms and even showers for an extra cost ranging from $63 to $249 going that distance. Often these compartments are sold out well in advance. Q Can travelers cut costs by taking the bus? A Vacationers can benefit from fare competition in cer- tain areas served by more than one interstate bus company. Some bus passes offer unlimited travel in the U.S. for 7, 15 or 30 days at prices from $185 to $345. A straight cross-country trip is about $99 one way. A few paired-city one-way bar- gains are Pittsburgh to Cleveland, $6.80; Los Angeles to Las Vegas, $32, and New York to Jacksonville, $69. In addition, one of the fastest-growing transportation in- dustries is the motor-coach tour. You know before you leave home where you're going to go, what you're going to see and how much it's going to cost you. For example, one. tour company offers 10 days of lodging plus tours of Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and other parks starting at $399. But, like many tours, it must be booked through a travel agent. Q What are some of the bargains In car rentals? A Because a great deal of car rentals are commercial business Monday through Friday, there are a lot of special discounts available for weekends. Also, you can get a good rate with unlimited mileage if you take the car for a week at a time. Most of the bargains are in Florida and California, where there is strong competition. Alamo, for example, offers, for $79 a week, unlimited mileage for subcompacts in these areas, and other companies' charges are not much higher. O. At your destination, what is the best way to find a bargain for a hotel or motel? A You can cheek with most major hotel chains about spe- cial rates at special periods. Many offer amenities for families traveling with children, such as free lodging or baby-sitting. There are also discount chains that offer lower-than-normal motel rates, but many do not have restaurants. Many hotels offer special weekend packages to fill rooms taken during the week by business people. Again, plan ahead. Q Is travel to Europe and other continents cheaper now that the dollar is higher in value? A Travel is becoming more and more of a bargain for Americans traveling in other countries. From New York to London, there are a lot of special fares below the $644 general o~e-way fare at high season. On Pan American, for example, you can get a $770 round-trip fare on the ad- vance-purchase-excursion-APEX-plan by buying 9.1 days in advance. Or you can fly standby on many airlines for about $325 one way. Also, charters to London are starting to come back. Ordi- narily they leave New York Friday and Saturday nights at a round-trip price of $399 to $449. Among companies offering charters through agents only are Travel 9.000, Arthur From- met Holidays and Wainwright Travel Service. Many char- ters require prepayment about 40 days in advance. These trips can be combined with tour and hotel packages, too. To Paris from New York, a round-trip super oacance fare is available from $663, but charter trips are available as low as $479. If you're flying to Mexico City from Washington, D.C., round-trip advance-purchase fares are as low as $350 midweek or $410 on weekends. Q What is the best way to find out who is offering these deals and which one is best? A It is best to contact a travel agent because these spe- cial offers change week to week. Travel agents receive income from commissions they are paid on travel services and usually wSll not ch~u'ge for counseling. I-1 TI03760027