by Doug Desjardins
Though the economic recovery is still shaky at best, the days of inexpensive travel appear to be over as the industry starts to raise rates and leisure travel continues to increase.
Hotel chains and airlines saw a good sign that the summer rebound in travel will continue into the fall when the American Automobile Association (AAA) predicted Labor Day travel would jump 10 percent this year. And though 90 percent of travelers are taking trips by car, the AAA expects 1.62 million people to travel by air, a 4.5 percent increase from 2009.
“While media reports on the state of U.S. economy are mixed, many Americans are still interested in taking one more trip as the summer travel season comes to a close,” said Glen MacDonell, AAA Travel Services director.
Hotel rates are expected to be 2 percent to 6 percent higher over the Labor Day weekend compared to 2009, providing another sign that the long slump in tourism is coming to an end. 
The industry is also seeing encouraging signs of recovery in Las Vegas, a key bellwether for tourism trends. So far this year, occupancy rates in the city have averaged 80 percent – compared to the national average of 56 percent – and have increased every month.
“When you look at the average daily room rate increasing for four consecutive months, and increasing 6 percent in the month of June, it demonstrates that the market is starting to adjust to the new room inventory,” said Vince Alberta, vice president of public affairs for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We’ve added about 12,000 rooms during the past two years.”
But Las Vegas still has a long way to go, considering the average room rate in June was $90 compared to a pre-recession average of $132 a night in June 2007.
Trends also show that more people are shopping online to find bargains on hotels and airfare. According to research firm ComScore, online spending on travel increased 9 percent in July, building on increases of 8 percent in June and 7 percent in May. Priceline reported a 43-percent jump in second-quarter bookings followed by Expedia (19 percent) and Orbitz (17 percent).
But the industry is receiving mixed signals from consumers who still don’t seem confident that the economic recovery is going to stick.
The Air Transportation Association reported that major domestic airlines in the U.S. posted a 1 percent decline in travelers for July, though most planes were more than 90 percent full. The drop came despite a slight bump in air travel during the Fourth of July.
But a survey from TripAdvisor shows leisure travel trending into positive territory. Its survey found that 86 percent of U.S. travelers are planning trips this fall, up from 73 percent in the fall of 2009.
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