The travel industry fears revenue is down to levels that may be typical for years.
People in the travel business now have a fresh buzzword to describe what's happening. The term is new normal, meaning that airlines, hotels, conference centers, and car-rental companies are expecting their revenue has plunged to levels that could be typical for years to come.
The term was flying around last week at the annual education conference of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (www.acte.org) in Washington. The conference draws both buyers, such as corporate travel managers and meeting planners, and industry suppliers, such as airlines and hotel companies.
The travel-budget cuts started last fall but accelerated rapidly in January after members of Congress, the Obama administration, and the media pilloried American International Group and other companies receiving bailout funds for holding events at upscale resorts.
The politicians backed off their criticism after travel organizations banded together to protest, pointing out that business travel was not a frivolous endeavor and actually contributed substantially to economic activity.
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Source - Philadelphia Inquirer
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