Travel Venues: The Economy's Five Biggest Losers

Although the recession hit many areas across the nation and abroad, a few locations seem to be vying for the title of the travel industry’s biggest loser. This list is subjective, but based on news reports in the last month. Not surprisingly, three of these areas were regions with a lot of real estate speculation and the highest rates of foreclosure activity in the nation.

5. Whistler, British Columbia

This ski resort town of about 150 hotels, inns and hostels, is known for an intimate relationship with Americans that was doomed by the economy and a strong Canadian dollar that priced out its American clientele. “We have some tough times ahead, it’s been doom and gloom on the market side, but we have a choice,” Tourism Whistler president Barrett Fisher said in Pique Newsmagazine. “We can either recognize that and adapt our strategies, or we can do nothing and follow (the market).” The venue lost 15,000 seats from Zoom Airlines, and tourism is expected to continue to drop 12 percent in 2009. The parent company of Whistler Blackcomb, the area’s dominant resort and host to several 2010 Winter Olympics events, is also racing to refinance $1.7 billion of debt, but according to the Toronto Globe and Mail, it’s unlikely to work out.

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4. South Florida

Buffeted by hurricanes, the housing market and falling tourism, the South Florida travel industry is struggling. According to the Miami Herald, international visitors hit record highs this year — they made up nearly half of all tourists on its beaches — but even those tourists are keeping to a budget. Because of the faltering economy, South Florida saw its first six-month decline in tourism since 9/11. To make matters worse, about 40 percent of the folks comprising its luxury tourism market worked in the financial industry — and most of those workers have been laid off. So far, no other industries have stepped up to replace them.

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3. Phoenix

More than 70 daily airline departures have left Phoenix and passenger volume and hotel taxes are down from last year, severely denting the city’s $10 billion tourism industry. That’s not boding well for a tourism destination that is just beginning its high season. The majority of Phoenix tourism revolved around airlines, but with rising costs, it can create problems for its tenuous tourism. Fares are now 30 to 50 percent higher than only a year ago and don’t seem to be coming down. Steep discounts on hotels are helping, but through September, vacancies in Phoenix still rose the most among the nation’s Top 25 markets, according to Smith Travel Research.

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2. Hawaii

In Hawaii, pleas for help are an almost daily occurrence. “I certainly don’t want to sugar-coat the situation…. I have not seen an economic crisis like this in my lifetime and I am not the youngest person in this room, ” John Monahan, spokesman for the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau told KITV in Honolulu. Tourism plunged about 20 percent in September and some sources say losses total around $700 million, not only in tourism dollars but also in travel-related job losses. A state tourism director also reported she doesn’t expect any relief in 2009.

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1. Las Vegas

About 500,000 fewer people flew to Las Vegas last month, with flights to Sin City dropping 13.2 percent in September. Conventions and tradeshows, which account for $6 billion in annual revenue, were down 22 percent in August and 3.4 percent for the year. Thanks to tight credit, many projects are on hold or may never be realized, said Nevada State Treasurer Kate Marshall. Las Vegas leads the nation in foreclosures, and the resulting construction and ancillary jobs lost have made this a tough time for residents and businesses alike. Worse, now its rooms and restaurants are so discounted that Las Vegas is being touted as the bargain bin of travel destinations. Perhaps the Las Vegas Review-Journal captured the atmosphere best: The “woes of the airline industry, dire economic news and an emerging recession are battering a Southern Nevada economy that blossomed with cheap oil, easy consumer credit and the boom in home and property values.”

Photos courtesy of Whistler Blackcomb, VisitFlorida, Hotel San Carlos, Hawaii Tourism Authority and the Las Vegas News Bureau