Recessions are an Adventure Traveler's Dream

February 21 2009 by Neal Mueller

recessiontravel.jpgIn this global recession the overall mood is dire, and it's hard to see an end to it all. My advice this weekend is to turn off the television; put down the newspaper; close your laptop; and go outside.

The economic downturn is ushering in a period that should cry out to the adventurer inside of you. New opportunities are at your feet.

Right now, as you read this, the travel industry is slashing budgets and ratcheting down expectations for 2009 and 2010. Airline executives are hosting brainstorming sessions to devise ways to fill seats in the coming quarters. Travel operators, who have seen booking activity come to a standstill, are scrambling to capture your attention. Prices are coming down folks, and fast.

2002 was a similar environment. Following 9/11 the travel industry saw record lows. Personally, this was a time in life where my adventuring career was burgeoning. I did not have a lot of money, but I had a strong desire to rush out and see the world. The deals I found were so compelling, it would have been criminal to stay at work and cancel my vacation again that year.

My experience from 2002: I spent 8 days skiing the Austrian Alps. Airfare from the U.S., eight nights in a 4-star hotel, two meals per day, and 4 days of lift passes... $750 per person. I paid for rental equipment, extra days skiing, and lunch. That's it. Awesome. And this wasn't a needle in a haystack deal. They were everywhere.
I'm looking for similar deals in 2009. Keep your eyes open. Do your research. Don't be afraid to use lesser-known internet travel companies such as Vacations-to-Go or similar package providers. These guys are a lot more vulnerable than the Orbitz/Expedia ilk, and therefore work a lot harder to package together great deals. They also have a live person on the other end of the phone. So if you see a package that almost fits the bill you can give them a call and have a live person set you up in style. A little patience and Google research will put you in the driver's seat for the adventure vacation of a lifetime.

Vacation packages I'm looking at:

  • Jungle tours and scuba diving in Fiji
  • Diving the Great Barrier Reef with an $AUS exchange rate that makes it 25% off
  • Wine tasting in Napa, discretionary spending is at an all time low, and so is the price of wine.
  • Off-season hiking in Patagonia
  • Biking and swimming adventures across 10 Degrees Latitude - (disclosure: shameless plug)
  • Alaska heli skiing - gasoline prices are dropping and so are helicopter fuel prices.

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