US Travel Industry Not the Only One Struggling

US Travel Industry Not the Only One Struggling

Things have been looking quite bad for US-based airlines and hotel chains over the past few months. Now fuel prices have fallen, but a decrease in the number of people traveling means that a drop in airline fares and hotel room fees are not going to come about anytime soon. However, the US is not the only country with a struggling travel industry. Europe has troubles of its own.

In England, for example, the demand for hotel rooms has fallen over the past two months. The financial crisis that has hit the US so hard has spread across the Atlantic and slammed the British economy. In order to draw more customers, many U.K. hotels have decreased their prices in search of the happy balance between supply and demand.

Despite the fact that they have dropped rates nearly 2%, British hoteliers have seen their occupancy slip by nearly 7%. The Welsh city of Cardiff has experienced the biggest rate cuts, with hotels dropping their rates by 15% on average. It seems that people are taking advantage of the cheaper prices because Cardiff's average room occupancy this year is nearly on par with last year's. Other cities with cheaper rooms included Manchester and Liverpool. But London, despite its rate cuts, remains one of the world's most expensive cities to visit.

But there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic. British Airways, coming off a price fixing scandal that saw several top executives jailed, has launched a business class only affiliate OpenSkies, which will offer frequent trans-Atlantic flights. Budget carrier Ryanair has said that it plans to begin a trans-Atlantic service within the next few years, and American airplane design company Aerion has announced that it is working on a new supersonic jet to replace the now-grounded Concorde. It will take a mere 3 hours to fly from London to New York on the new plane.