Luxury vacation no casualty of economy

Wealthy travelers willing to pay big bucks for trips

Hugh Hunter Jr
AP

Although the economy's rough waters are giving them pause, it's not enough to cause some Americans to send vacation plans, such as this International Expeditions cruise on the Amazon, overboard.

By DAVID SHARP

PORTLAND, Maine — High gas prices might mean fewer families will be headed to the beach or the mountains this summer, but rising prices likely won't be keeping wealthy people from missing out on vacation.

Although their stock portfolios might be in decline, wealthy Americans who are less likely to feel the impact of a slowing economy and rising energy and food prices are largely going ahead with their vacation plans even though consumer confidence is at a 16-year low.

Households earning $100,000 or more have been taking a larger share of hotel rooms since 2000 and now account for about a third of hotel stays, according to D.K. Shifflet & Associates in McLean, Va.

"If you think about the high-income folks in the U.S., the CEOs and others who make a lot of money and have been doing well over the last eight years, they can afford to do that. And they're doing it while they can," said Doug Shifflet, chairman and CEO of the travel research firm.

At a country club outside Portland, Maine, about 150 people attended a "Luxury Explorers' Showcase" to learn about African safaris, tours of the Amazon and Galapagos, jet charters and space tourism.

Organizer Pamela Hurley-Moser said not all of the attendees were loaded with money, but all had one thing in common: They had no intention of canceling travel.

"There are many people who absolutely can't afford to travel (right now). Then there's a middle range where people are going to scrimp and save in almost every other area in their life so that they can do a trip," said Hurley-Moser, owner of Hurley Travel Experts in Portland.

The tour operators who made presentations seem to be doing just fine. TCS Expeditions, which offers tours via private jets, is sold out for 2008 and nearly sold out for 2009 even though the standard price for trips such as "Wildlife of the World" and "History's Lost Cities" is $64,950 per person, said Melanie Cole, vice president of sales in Seattle.

Guests who are ponying up for a one-of-a-kind experience are well aware of the economic uncertainty facing the U.S., said Martha Wharton, vice president of marketing. "They're very concerned about the economy, the political uncertainties, all of those things, but they're not changing their buying patterns because of it yet," Wharton said.

Conservation Corporation Africa is doing well with safaris in Africa and India.

"Certainly the economic events have affected travel. There's no doubt about that," said James Currie, a former safari guide who is CCA's public ambassador. "But it has not affected the luxury sector of the market as much as the middle-of-the-road market."