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Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Will summer travel incentives lure you out of town?
Are gas rebates and special deals enough to make you get out and go?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Whether or not the calendar shows it, summer has officially begun. If gas prices and economic uncertainty have kept you from committing to a vacation, now may be the time to start planning. Those very things that make travelers wary of spending money are causing the travel industry to provide great incentives to get you out of the house.
We solidified our summer vacation plans back in January when I had to pay for our summer rental. While those costs have been absorbed long ago, we are also locked into a vacation that requires a 10-hour drive in our family tank. I wish we could take advantage of many of these summer travel incentives:
Hotels and resort properties are fighting back against the high cost of driving, enticing travelers with offers of free gas cards or gas rebates. Check here for several hotels and resorts in the southeast offering gas incentives. Hotels.com, chains like Best Western, as well as individual bed and breakfast inns, are offering gas promotions at select locations throughout the country. And AAA offers free tanks of gas for travelers renting from Hertz.
In addition, vacation areas like Fort Lauderdale, Fla. are offering giveaways and special deals to encourage travelers. Go to www.sunny.org to check out Fort Lauderdale’s Summer of Discovery program. You can receive a free beach towel, a pair of flip flops, and take advantage of 2-for-1 deals on a variety of activities from river boat cruises and snorkeling to kayak rentals and museum admissions.
TripAdvisor’s top 10 list of family-friendly bargain hotels includes several hotels within the southeast that average $123 per night and include cool kid-pleasing amenities. The number one bargain hotel on the list is Dunes Village Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC. For $139 per night, your family can hit the beach and splash around in the resort’s indoor water park — complete with pool, waterslide and river ride.
TripAdvisor also offers a list of top 10 free attractions throughout the U.S.
- Or check out your favorite travel web sites to find cheap vacation packages as well as advice on saving money on your trip.
So will you take advantage of any of these travel industry incentives for your summer getaway? Where will you go? What free attractions in the southern U.S. would you recommend to fellow travelers? Do you have helpful advice for traveling cheaply this summer?
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