Most aren't ready to forgo vacations

Many travelers are forgoing exotic trips to faraway locales, what with high unemployment and worry over more job losses to come.

Instead, Americans are sticking closer to home, driving to vacation destinations instead of flying, spending less money, and staying in lower-tier hotels.

Many are opting for "staycations," with more day trips to the Shore and the mountains, museums, family attractions, and historical sights.

Catherine Rossi of AAA Mid-Atlantic sees "two major themes in travel this summer: a reluctance to spend beyond what is necessary, and deep discounts in the travel industry to lure people."

More than half of all leisure travelers will take the same number of trips, but stay fewer nights and book closer to the date. "They are waiting until the last minute to go," Rossi said.

People have made "permanent changes" in driving habits, cutting back and consolidating, and are "much more conscious" of what they spend to fill up, she said.

Pundits are mistaken if they think that in tough economic times, Americans view vacations as a luxury. The truth is, they see it as an absolute necessity.

"There's definitely pent-up demand from last year, when high gas prices cast a pall over all vacationers," said John Larson, managing director at Lexington, Mass.-based IHS Global Insight Inc., which forecasts travel trends. "This year, you've got gas pressure easing, but the economic impact is really being felt."

Indeed, a stroll through LOVE Park in Center City last week found people still planning vacations, but not going long distances.

"People see a vacation as an American right, and the reduced travel rates and airfares make people want to travel more," said Jenny Swerdlow, an intern at an advertising firm. "Everyone is doing something different. Some are traveling more, some are traveling less."

Robert Townsend, a medical-equipment salesman from Linwood, N.J., said: "I am vacationing at my house this summer. My friends are doing the same thing.

"A lot of them are in new-home construction; all their work has been down."

Joanie Elliott, a social worker in the city's Department of Human Services, said she hasn't been able to save money for a vacation. "I won't be going anywhere. The water bill has gone up. All my bills are on the rise."

Contact staff writer Linda Loyd at 215-854-2831 or lloyd@phillynews.com.