Travel Weekly Digital Edition - November 26, 2007

BRIEFS
Poll: Presidential hopefuls should talk more travel

Spirit Airlines eyes route to Cartagena Spirit Airlines filed at the Transportation Department for rights to launch what would be its first nonstop service from the U.S. to Cartagena, Colombia. The airline proposed to begin with two daily flights using A319 and A321 aircraft, building to daily service on or about March 9.

By Michael Milligan

WASHINGTON — They have debated everything from immigration reform to the war in Iraq. They have even pondered whether or not UFOs exist. However, Democratic and Republican presidential candidates haven’t said much about the travel industry, and that may be costing them votes.

According to a new survey, presidential candidates could win support if they were to discuss travel- and tourism-related issues during the upcoming primary season.

Trinidad sets date
for Hyatt Regency

Ayers McHenry & Associates conducted the survey to gauge voter opinions on travel-related issues.

The 428-room Hyatt Regency Trinidad will open for business in Port of Spain’s International Waterfront Center on Dec. 31 as the first full-service hotel to debut on the island since 1962’s opening of the Trinidad Hilton in Port of Spain.

The Travel Industry Association, the Travel Business Roundtable and the National Tour Association commissioned the survey among voters in Florida and South Carolina, which will be among the first states to hold prima-ries in January.

Survey respondents said they would like to see presidential candidates talk more about travel-and tourism-related issues at events like the Democratic candidates’ debates.

and tourism.”

The property is geared to the business and convention market and already has snagged next year’s Caribbean Hotel & Investment Conference, May 6 to 8.

A total of 300 registered Democrats and 300 registered Republicans were polled from Oct. 24 to 29.

The results, which travel industry representatives discussed with the media during a conference call, indicate that travel- and tourism-related issues resonate with voters.

When asked if they were more or less likely to vote for a candidate that makes travel issues a priority, 36% of Republicans and 46% of Democrats in Florida said they were more likely to, while 40% of Republicans and 31% of Democrats said it would have no effect.

“Never before has travel been so top of mind among the voters, and they are demanding that government get more engaged in an area that is more important to them and their families and critical to the economy.”

IHG to manage
Mauritius resort

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts is developing its first beach resort in Africa under an agreement with Lateral Holdings to manage a $50 million luxury resort on the northwest coast of Mauritius.

Overall, nine out of 10 potential presidential primary voters in the survey recognized travel and tourism as important to their states’ economy, and eight out of 10 indicated travel was important in both their lives and the lives of their families.

In South Carolina, 39% of Republicans and 49% of Democrats said they were more likely to vote for a candidate that made travel issues a priority, while 35% of Republicans and 26% of Democrats said it would have no impact on their vote.

The travel industry contends that less travel results in fewer jobs, which in turn impacts other broader economic issues such as health insurance, mortgages and consumer spending.

“Travel is an important issue for Americans,” said Linda Simon, president of the National Tour Association. “Clearly, Americans want dialogue on these issues.”

Scheduled to open in late 2008, the 210-room InterContinental Mauritius Resort Balaclava Fort will be developed along the beach in the Bay of Balaclava, just north of Port Louis, the capital.

More federal intervention needed
Regarding the airport screening process,
the survey results show 56% of Republicans
and 66% of Democrats in Florida agreed with
the statement that “the federal government
can do far more to improve the efficiency of
the system to get airline passengers to their
destination quickly and safely.”

Whit Ayres, a principal at Ayers McHenry & Associates, said the survey results indicated that travel and tourism is one issue that both Republicans and Democratic primary voters appeared to agree on.

A clear majority also said they believed it was important to update the air traffic control system.

“The consistency of the results on travel and tourism is quite remarkable, given the diversity of the respondents,” he said. “Clearly, travel and tourism is important in both of these states.”

As for the candidates, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) only slightly broached the issue when he voiced support earlier this year for dropping the decades old embargo that has banned most travel to Cuba.

Roger Dow, president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association, said travel is an issue that touches a lot of voters. “It is a perfect issue [for candidates to use] to broaden their base.”

“I don’t fault [any of] the candidates,” said Chuck Merin, president of the Travel Business Roundtable. “I would like to think of it more in terms of challenging them to rise to the occasion.”

Nevertheless, most potential voters said they felt the presidential candidates had not sufficiently addressed such issues.

An IHG resort will open on the Bay of Balaclava.

When asked, 68% of Republicans and 67% of Democrats in Florida as well as 63% of Republicans and 58% of Democrats in South Carolina said the candidates had not “ adequately addressed issues surrounding travel

From airport security procedures to the growing problem of airline delays to passport regulations, the government is increasingly having a larger impact on how Americans travel, Dow said.

Dow said the TIA, the TBR and the NTA representatives intended to meet with the campaigns of the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates over the next several weeks to share the survey results.