Family, group travel focus of Helena tourism conference

Americans are traveling more — and traveling more with their families — but they’re working harder to find the lowest possible prices for their vacations, a Florida-based tourism consultant said Monday.

As the opening speaker at the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism and Recreation, Peter Yesawich said that his firm’s annual survey shows that more Americans are planning to travel this year than in any of the past three years, but that the demographics of travelers have changed.

Yesawich, president of an Orlando public relations firm that serves travel industry clients, said 56 percent of the adult population this year plans a vacation, up from 49 percent last year.

Yesawich said that whereas the ’80s were about personal growth and the ’90s saw people focus on money and material wealth, Americans in the post-9/11 world are turning their attention to family. More and more families — including children — see vacations as a way to spend quality time together, and family travel is the only segment of the leisure travel market that’s shown measurable growth in recent years.

By JOHN HARRINGTON – IR Business Editor

Full Story: http://helenair.com/articles/2005/03/22/top/a01032205_01.txt