| The Recession’s Impact on Travel |
26 May |
As the recession drags on and the news from Wall Street continues to cause consumers to tighten their spending habits, there are facets of the economy looking to lure customers to spend their money. The travel industry is advertising, marketing and hoping consumers will spend money on travel, especially cruises. They are cutting rates and offering specials trying to weather the financial storm until better times.
Since travel is considered to be a discretionary expense, many families are forgoing vacations until their financial situation solidifies. With less people traveling in an effort to save money, amusement parks and attractions are trying to entice people to visit their resort or park. The amusement parks and tourist attractions in Florida are so dependent on tourism that they are offering deep discounts and enticing rates in an effort to fill their parks and keep business as usual.
Along with the amusement parks suffering from the recession’s realities, the supporting industries serving tourists are suffering in the wake of fewer travelers. Rental cars in Orlando used to be a booming business but the recession’s impact has been felt. Restaurants and shops are reporting decreased sales as fewer tourists are frequenting their establishments. As the economy shows signs of recovery, so too will the recovery come to the entire travel industry.
read comments (0)| Will you buy foreign owned American made cars? |
4 May |
Chances are pretty good that you may already own an American made, foreign owned vehicle if you drive a Toyota. With 13 manufacturing plants across the U.S., Toyota proudly makes use of “Made in America” while still being ultimately owned by its Japanese company.
With the slew of restructuring the Federal Government is requiring before U.S. Automakers receive bailout money, there is one deal that may have caught your attention, but perhaps, not the entire story.
Chrysler Motors has tentatively accepted a partnership plan that would bring Fiat into the American landscape; literally as it helps to manufacture Chrysler cars. The second part of the story which you may not have heard about deals with Fiat’s desire to also join with General Motors Europe.
If such a deal were to take place, not only would Fiat have its core car division working directly with two American auto manufacturers, it would also be closely combined with German Opel and a few smaller European manufacturers.
Fiat’s CEO, Sergio Marchionne has stated publicly his desire to grow the company to the number two auto manufacturer in the world, just behind Toyota. Currently that position is held by Volkswagen, which makes massive numbers of automobiles for the European market place.
If Fiat’s plans solidify, we may very well be purchasing more foreign owned (and maybe) American made vehicles. Are you willing to make these kinds of buying decisions?
