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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Jeff Dekorte
Aired January 26, 2002 - 09:23 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We Americans are an itinerant lot, and even since September 11, folks are heading back to airplanes and trains and automobiles to take trips. And that's a good sign, we think.
Joining us now to talk a little bit about this and where the deals might be is AOL travel expert Jeff Dekorte, joining us from our Washington bureau.
Jeff, first of all, good to have you with us.
JEFF DEKORTE, AOL TRAVEL EXPERT: Good morning, thanks for having us.
O'BRIEN: Give us a sense of some of the numbers. Of course, immediately post-September 11, everybody stayed home. For a little while there was no airplanes to even fly on, then people were a little bit wary about leaving home, and now that seems to be changing.
DEKORTE: You know, soon after September 11, about 30 percent of our members told us that they were going to alter their travel plans to stay home, or closer to home. But the Travel Industry Association releasing numbers last week, it tells us almost 60 percent of Americans are planning to take a trip in the next six months. And for those that aren't planning to take a trip, it's really the economy that's holding them back, not necessarily safety.
So I think folks are out there looking for good bargains right now.
O'BRIEN: So I guess that's kind of good news to hear that people have -- feel confident enough, taking the economy issue aside for a moment, feel confident enough about the -- their general security to go and get on a plane.
DEKORTE: Sure. It's certainly a personal decision, but I think some of the measures put into place recently, people need to get away. People need to travel, and they're looking to do so.
O'BRIEN: All right. Let's talk bargains. Where are the hot ones right now?
DEKORTE: Well, you know, we always know that the most popular destinations include Las Vegas and Orlando. But what we're seeing in our members recently is a lot of traffic heading toward the Caribbean and Florida. And there are some great deals down there. You know, if you've never taken a cruise, now is the time to try. We were online yesterday and found a seven-night cruise on Carnival on Travelocity yesterday for $650. And on top of that, Travelocity is now offering $150 cash back.
So you can get a seven-night cruise in the Caribbean for $500. That's remarkable.
O'BRIEN: Gee, Jeff, do you have to bring a brown bag or something? Geez, that's pretty good.
DEKORTE: (inaudible), if you've not cruised before, now's the time to do it. It's everything is included, including the meals and most of the activities. Really the time to go.
O'BRIEN: And of course you have to row, right? You're down there in the galley with Ben Hur.
What else is hot right now?
DEKORTE: You know, the Caribbean destinations, Europe is very hot right now. You can get from New York to London for less than $200. You can get from San Francisco down to Florida for less than $200. And the best way to find those fares, really, go on line, search through some of the online sites like Travelocity, Priceline, Last Minute Travel, all are offering great deals right now.
O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this. In those numbers you gave us, how much of that reflected international travel? Are people still going to worry about that?
DEKORTE: I think there is little bit less interest in international travel. And again, we can tell by the destinations our members are searching for. Most of them are domestic at this point.
O'BRIEN: All right. Jeff Dekorte is a travel expert with America Online, affiliated with this company. We appreciate you joining us this morning on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
DEKORTE: Thanks very much.
O'BRIEN: And happy travels to you.
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