Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 22, 1991 TAG: 9103220912
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B6 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And state tourism officials, despite sharp cutbacks in their marketing budgets, are preparing a $1.5 million media blitz they hope will attract travelers determined to stay closer to home and spend less money this vacation season.
The travel industry is hurting this year, stung by war and recession. But it's not giving up. Jerry Caudill, USAir's Roanoke station chief, said Thursday that passenger traffic "is on the increase," and several valley travel agencies report a sharp increase in business.
"The day the cease-fire was announced, the flood gates opened for personal travel," said Mel Ludovici, president of Martin Travel Inc. "It's all we can do to keep up."
But for Valley Travel Service Inc. on Brambleton Avenue in Roanoke, the deluge came too late.
"We just found out that we couldn't compete," said Jon Fore, who recently closed his four-person agency. Fore said he was pumping nearly $10,000 a month into the business. The slowdown "came on strong, right around Thanksgiving.
"The main thing is the profit margin is so low in this. And when you have accounts receivable that haven't been paid - it's kind of tough."
Fore bought Valley Travel, formerly Gammon Travel, in November 1989, but quickly learned that behind the glamour and travel discounts lurked a difficult business with narrow profit margins. "It's just extremely hard for the small agencies. You look now and there's one on every block.
"I was basically putting up the money myself," he continued. "I was kind of in it for the freebies."
Not anymore. Fore transferred his existing accounts to Martin Travel, which has two offices in the valley and is planning to open a third downtown in the new Dominion Tower.
A second travel agency, Uniglobe Dominion Travel Inc. at Crossroads Mall, also closed late last year, several agents said. The agency phone listed in the phone book has been disconnected.
The unusually lean months last fall and this winter may cause other small agencies in the valley to close their doors, some area agents said, but no one is naming names. "January was atrocious," said Bill Thomas at Hopkins Travel Inc. "It was the worst month I've ever had in the travel industry."
For the past week, agents at Travelmasters Inc. in downtown Roanoke have been busy rebooking clients who kept their reservations intact despite the war but now want to take advantage of dramatic discounts.
Gene Swartz, owner of Travelmasters, said that since Monday his agents have been retrieving clients' reservations, rebooking their flights and mailing them new tickets - along with a refund check or a credit on customers' charge cards.
However, officials at the state Division of Tourism suspect wary consumers may decide to save on vacations this year - that is, jump in the car instead of on an airplane. "We do know travel will be closer to home, which is good for Virginia," said Martha Steger, the department's director of promotions.
Starting April 14, advertising campaigns showcasing Virginia will appear in general circulation magazines, newspapers outside the state and in selected cable television markets. The promotion will end June 30.
Steger said lingering fears of Iraqi-sponsored terrorism has also led state officials to target would-be travelers in Canada, already home to more than 50 percent of Virginia's foreign travelers.
`'It definitely has picked up," Thomas said, "but we're still not out of the woods."
by CNB