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CNN Live Saturday

A Little Getaway: 2004 Travel Outlook

Aired December 27, 2003 - 12:50   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Perhaps you're looking for a little get away for the new year? The travel industry is offering some deals out there. There may even be some deals for business travelers, as the industry looks to make a rebound from the lean times that began on 9/11.
With our 2004 travel outlook, Janet Libert, the editor of "Skyguide Go" magazine, joins us from Philadelphia.

Good to see you, Janet.

JANET LIBERT, "SKYGUIDE GO MAGAZINE": Hi. Nice to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right. You go to the airports these days, the concourses are filled, the flights are packed. What's going on? Is it a return to business travel or are these mostly leisure travelers?

LIBERT: Well, over the holidays, it's mostly leisure travels. But all surveys and forecasts indicate that 2004 will be a very good year for both leisure and business travelers. Business travel is expected to be up 3.7 percent, leisure travel up 2 percent.

The notable piece to this is that this is the first time since 1999 that business travel has been up. So 2004 is going to be great for business travelers.

WHITFIELD: So what are the contributing factors? Is it that airlines are offering better deals, resorts offering better deals? Or, for business travelers, I guess they just want to know about the bottom line in the air travel.

LIBERT: Well, for both business and leisure travel, there's a lot of factors that have contributed to the success going into the success for 2004.

One, obviously, is the Internet. But also, the airlines are really paying attention. The low-cost carriers are coming in, and making the airline industry a different kind of place to be.

WHITFIELD: Well, let's talk about some of the package deals that are being offered for a lot of the leisure travelers to kind of get them more comfortable with flying again. A lot of the packages are including your air, your hotel, and perhaps even some, you know, kind of perks, of destination sites once they get there, right? LIBERT: Absolutely. After the holiday period, January is generally a lull time for vacations in the Caribbean or ski resorts and even to Europe. So right now is a great time to take advantage of any of those destinations.

Also, air travel -- airlines will be starting to offer some great deals now to get pre-bookings for the rest of 2004. So, for example, Alaska Airlines and Southwest have both offered Internet only deals with fares as low as $39 one-way.

WHTIFIELD: And are a lot of these airlines finding that these "Internet only" deals really are the way to go, that it is very popular for customers?

LIBERT: You know, it's really an interesting point. Going into 2004, airlines have recognized they can get customers to go directly to their own Web sites for booking tickets. So as you go into 2004, consumers should really research not only the online travel agencies such as Expedia and Travelocity, but also go to the airline and hotel Web sites, because they can also find some really great deals there as well.

WHITFIELD: OK. And let's talk about some of these packages that some of these airlines are now cozying up to. Not only are they -- and not just on the Internet, but elsewhere, they're offering better airline packages. But it also means that you get, you know, the perk of a good deal on the ground at a hotel. Nice hotels, too.

LIBERT: You know, packages are highly overlooked by customers. And they many times will offer the best deal.

For example, right how, you can get a package to London for $299 a person. And that includes both your air and....

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

LIBERT: ....three nights in a hotel. And -- at a very nice hotel. So packages are really a good place to look. And airlines -- all airlines will offer vacation packages.

WHITFIELD: That's pretty remarkable that you can find some better deals going overseas, particularly to Europe, than you can just going from coast-to-coast here in the States.

LIBERT: You know what? Europeans really want Americans to travel overseas. And despite the fact that the Euro is up 20 percent against the dollar, many European travel -- travel suppliers are holding prices to encourage Americans to travel to Europe. And January and February are great times to do that.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And real quick, we offered up on the page there, you saw, to Jackson Hole, three-night special of $541. That's remarkable, because ski trips, or ski-related destination trips this time of year are never a good deal.

And you say look out for cruise lines. Don't overlook them. Real quick.

LIBERT: Absolutely. Cruise lines, over the past three years, have added about 12 to 14 ships each year. So the number of berths out there is really growing. So you're going to find some good deals as cruise lines try to fill these beds.

WHITFIELD: All right. Janet Libert, thanks very much. -- Of "Skyguide Go" magazine. Appreciate it.

LIBERT: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Have a good holiday.

LIBERT: Happy New Year.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 27, 2003 - 12:50   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Perhaps you're looking for a little get away for the new year? The travel industry is offering some deals out there. There may even be some deals for business travelers, as the industry looks to make a rebound from the lean times that began on 9/11.
With our 2004 travel outlook, Janet Libert, the editor of "Skyguide Go" magazine, joins us from Philadelphia.

Good to see you, Janet.

JANET LIBERT, "SKYGUIDE GO MAGAZINE": Hi. Nice to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right. You go to the airports these days, the concourses are filled, the flights are packed. What's going on? Is it a return to business travel or are these mostly leisure travelers?

LIBERT: Well, over the holidays, it's mostly leisure travels. But all surveys and forecasts indicate that 2004 will be a very good year for both leisure and business travelers. Business travel is expected to be up 3.7 percent, leisure travel up 2 percent.

The notable piece to this is that this is the first time since 1999 that business travel has been up. So 2004 is going to be great for business travelers.

WHITFIELD: So what are the contributing factors? Is it that airlines are offering better deals, resorts offering better deals? Or, for business travelers, I guess they just want to know about the bottom line in the air travel.

LIBERT: Well, for both business and leisure travel, there's a lot of factors that have contributed to the success going into the success for 2004.

One, obviously, is the Internet. But also, the airlines are really paying attention. The low-cost carriers are coming in, and making the airline industry a different kind of place to be.

WHITFIELD: Well, let's talk about some of the package deals that are being offered for a lot of the leisure travelers to kind of get them more comfortable with flying again. A lot of the packages are including your air, your hotel, and perhaps even some, you know, kind of perks, of destination sites once they get there, right? LIBERT: Absolutely. After the holiday period, January is generally a lull time for vacations in the Caribbean or ski resorts and even to Europe. So right now is a great time to take advantage of any of those destinations.

Also, air travel -- airlines will be starting to offer some great deals now to get pre-bookings for the rest of 2004. So, for example, Alaska Airlines and Southwest have both offered Internet only deals with fares as low as $39 one-way.

WHTIFIELD: And are a lot of these airlines finding that these "Internet only" deals really are the way to go, that it is very popular for customers?

LIBERT: You know, it's really an interesting point. Going into 2004, airlines have recognized they can get customers to go directly to their own Web sites for booking tickets. So as you go into 2004, consumers should really research not only the online travel agencies such as Expedia and Travelocity, but also go to the airline and hotel Web sites, because they can also find some really great deals there as well.

WHITFIELD: OK. And let's talk about some of these packages that some of these airlines are now cozying up to. Not only are they -- and not just on the Internet, but elsewhere, they're offering better airline packages. But it also means that you get, you know, the perk of a good deal on the ground at a hotel. Nice hotels, too.

LIBERT: You know, packages are highly overlooked by customers. And they many times will offer the best deal.

For example, right how, you can get a package to London for $299 a person. And that includes both your air and....

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

LIBERT: ....three nights in a hotel. And -- at a very nice hotel. So packages are really a good place to look. And airlines -- all airlines will offer vacation packages.

WHITFIELD: That's pretty remarkable that you can find some better deals going overseas, particularly to Europe, than you can just going from coast-to-coast here in the States.

LIBERT: You know what? Europeans really want Americans to travel overseas. And despite the fact that the Euro is up 20 percent against the dollar, many European travel -- travel suppliers are holding prices to encourage Americans to travel to Europe. And January and February are great times to do that.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And real quick, we offered up on the page there, you saw, to Jackson Hole, three-night special of $541. That's remarkable, because ski trips, or ski-related destination trips this time of year are never a good deal.

And you say look out for cruise lines. Don't overlook them. Real quick.

LIBERT: Absolutely. Cruise lines, over the past three years, have added about 12 to 14 ships each year. So the number of berths out there is really growing. So you're going to find some good deals as cruise lines try to fill these beds.

WHITFIELD: All right. Janet Libert, thanks very much. -- Of "Skyguide Go" magazine. Appreciate it.

LIBERT: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Have a good holiday.

LIBERT: Happy New Year.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com