DOWNERS GROVE, ILL. -- Mayflower Tours has seen some evidence that
motorcoach travel may get a boost as travelers look for
alternatives to flying. Mary Stachnik, vice president of Mayflower
Tours reports "an increase in bookings that have no air
involvement."
In the first two weeks after the catastrophe of Sept. 11, when
most Americans were too stunned to travel, Mayflower, like other
tour operators, received a devastating number of cancellations. But
as the dust clears, some other patterns are emerging.
"There was a time when people didn't feel that they should enjoy
themselves," said Stachnik. "But people are beginning to think of
completing their travel experiences. There isn't a fear of
traveling, the concern is with getting on airplanes."
Statements by President Bush and other officials have urged
people to travel again, and Stachnik said people are seeing it as
their patriotic duty. "People want to travel in North America," she
said. "They want to support America. Tourism is the No. 2 industry
and when [people] don't travel, there is a domino effect with the
restaurants, the clothes shops, the trinket shops."
Based in a suburb of Chicago, Mayflower offers home pick-up
service to clients within a 200-mile radius in the northern
midwest, including Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana. In
the home pick-up area bookings have held up.
New England tours depart from Boston. Stachnik reports that
while many are returning to flying to the departure city, there is
also an increase in train travel.
After two weeks, Stachnik said, the worst is over.
"It's like a tidal wave, or a hurricane," she said. "The eye has
gone through. It isn't all gloom and doom. People are trying."