Hunt for travel deals escalates

LOS ANGELES – Interest in travel deals is up, according to LowFares.com(TM), the travel comparison search site for airline tickets, hotels, car rentals and vacation packages. The ability to search online for discounted flights, cheap hotels and travel deals has boosted traffic by more than 22% since the summer months at a time when many experts are saying that this will be one of the industry’s most difficult years.

LowFares.com reports:

— The focus of most searches today is for holiday roundtrips which make up some 24% of inquiries.

— Search patterns also shifted in favor of Asia, as searches for Asian destinations — India, Thailand, China, Japan and Hong Kong — increased by 16%, while European locations declined by 13%.

— Travelers appear to be flexible when selecting dates for travel particularly around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

— Deals abound at travel partners such as Hotwire(TM) and Travelocity, and according to some experts, the smart consumer is snapping them up. At LowFares.com, consumer interest in travel deals increased by 28%.

“Frugality and smart spending are essential for most consumers in the current environment,” said Greg Samson, General Manager of LowFares. “In this economy, consumers want deals and are spending time online to investigate multiple options. LowFares makes it easier to compare and save in this very fluid market.”

Samson noted traffic to LowFares.com is increasing as people focus on making prudent spending decisions. Comparing prices can yield big savings. In one case, a consumer reported close to a $200 difference in discount airfare between two major carriers for flights in same timeframe, same destination.