The decade in travel: Technology and terrorism
by Beth J. Harpaz shoe. That led to barefoot passengers But the Internet’s impact on travel stream vacation today, and provides the Berlitz Complete Guide to
padding through the checkpoints. is not just in booking; it’s also in a well-packaged floating vacation Cruising and Cruise Ships 2010.”
NEW YORK - Remember getting Then in August 2006, British author- planning trips. Instead of buying a with all the basics included in the It has become a particularly good
through an airport without removing ities uncovered a plot to blow up air- guidebook, today’s traveler might price: accommodations, meals, vacation value for families with chil-
your shoes, dumping your water bot- craft using liquid explosives. That consult a destination Web site. To sports/fitness facilities, and entertain- dren - hassle-free, entertaining, and
tle or showing ID? led to restrictions on liquids and gels. find a restaurant, you might go online ment,” said Douglas Ward, author of safe.” AP
Remember when buying plane Today, travelers who forget that to Yelp or Chowhound, or ask friends
tickets by phone was faster than snow globes, wine and water bottles for a recommendation through
using a clunky Web site with a dial- aren’t allowed through airport check- Facebook or Twitter. For hotels, you
up connection? points seem absurdly out of touch. might visit TripAdvisor.com, which
Remember when you needed a And there’s little sympathy if you started allowing customers to post
guidebook to plan a vacation, and miss your flight because you didn’t reviews in 2001 and today has over
when you had to phone ahead to get allow enough time for security lines. 30 million of them.
directions? The attitude toward air travel has Technology has even changed the
All these things are different now, changed over the last decade too. way we drive to our destinations.
thanks to two forces that have Flying isn’t fun anymore. It’s just MapQuest started offering directions
changed travel and tourism in the last one big headache: Flight delays, lost online in 1996, the same year GM
decade profoundly and forever: baggage, overbooked flights, fewer introduced Onstar. Google Maps
Terrorism and technology. onboard amenities and fees for things dates to 2005. An early handheld
Long before Sept. 11, 2001, air that used to be free. Garmin GPS device sold for $589 in
passengers walked through metal Despite the hassles, though, 2003; today’s Garmins start as low as
detectors and had their carryon lug- Americans fly more now than they $89. But you might not need one if
gage screened by X-ray. But these did a decade ago. U.S. air travel hit a your phone has a mapping app.
procedures failed to prevent the 9/11 record high in 2007 with 769.6 mil- A few other noteworthy travel
attackers from boarding four jets lion passengers, 100 million more trends from the last decade:
with knives and box cutters. than flew in 2000. Even with the -Americans make more interna-
recession, more people flew in the tional trips than they used to, but they
U.S. air travel hit a
first eight months of 2009 - 478.6 are choosing more exotic destina-
million - than in the first nine months tions.
record high in 2007 with of 2000 - 453 million, according to In 2000, 61.3 million U.S. resi-
the U.S. Bureau of Transportation dents traveled abroad. In 2008, the
769.6 million passengers,
Statistics. number climbed to 63.5 million.
100 million more than
Why do we take so many flights But the number going to Western
when it’s so unpleasant? Because Europe declined about 20 percent,
flew in 2000. Even with families are spread out; jobs require from 12.9 million to 10.4 million. In
the recession, more peo-
travel; and relatively low ticket contrast, travel increased from the
prices encourage it. Bureau of U.S. to many other regions: Eastern
ple flew in the first eight
Transportation Statistics data com- Europe and South America, up 30
paring average domestic itinerary percent; and travel to India, China,
months of 2009 - 478.6
fares for the second quarter show that and Vietnam, roughly twice in 2008
million - than in the first
they were actually 11 percent lower what it was in 2000, according to the
in 2009, at $301, than in 2000, at U.S. Department of Commerce,
nine months of 2000 -
$339. Office of Travel and Tourism
Technology is the other big force Industries.
453 million, according to
that’s changed travel in the last -The old saying that “cruises are
the U.S. Bureau of
decade. Expedia and Travelocity for the newlywed, overfed and near-
began accepting online bookings in ly dead” is no longer true. The last
Transportation Statistics. 1996, but the phenomenon of using decade has seen innovations in cruis-
the Internet to routinely book and ing as in no other mode of travel.
plan travel has exploded in the 21st Ships have become small cities, car-
In the aftermath of the attacks, the century. rying 4,000 people, with amenities
Transportation Security In 2009, for the first time, more like ice rinks, rock-climbing walls,
Administration was created, “the than half of travel bookings were planetariums, surfing machines and
number of prohibited items doubled made online, according to Douglas water slides. Some cruises cater to
or tripled,” all checked bags were Quinby of PhoCusWright, a travel families, with kids’ programs; others
screened, and “the scrutiny passen- industry research company. (If you're are magnets for partying singles,
gers undergo was increased,” said surprised that online bookings make offering easy spring break trips to
Robert Baker, director of global up only 50 percent of travel, consid- sunny climes. And you don’t have to
security intelligence studies at er this: Most group travel, most live in Florida to catch a ship. There
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical cruises, many complicated itineraries are year-round home ports in New
University in Prescott, Ariz. and even the majority of lodging York, Galveston, Texas, and many
A few months later, in December reservations are still booked through other coastal cities.
2001, Richard Reid tried to blow up a travel agent, by phone or in person, “Cruising, once the territory of the
a plane by igniting explosives in his Quinby says.) rich and famous has become a main-
Chicago Defender • ChicagoDefender.com • December 16-22, 2009
19
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40