Cathy Keefe Quotations

There are definitely more people traveling. And they might not be spending more on each trip, but they are definitely taking more trips.

We've seen time and time again when gas prices spike, people still tend to travel. That can benefit an area that is within a drive of a number of large metropolitan regions.

Most people make plans about a month before they travel. We haven't seen any anecdotal evidence showing people are canceling plans for the weekend, ... Americans have gotten used to terror alerts after having gone through the drill before. I think the difference now is that people do want to get away and they're putting more importance to that than being holed up in the house in fear.

If we remain stable this fall, thats not necessarily a bad thing. Youre still talking the highest numbers weve ever seen,

If we remain stable this fall, that's not necessarily a bad thing. You're still talking the highest numbers we've ever seen.

If anything, people tend to modify their travel plans before canceling them.

Historically, gas prices alone have not discouraged people from taking summer trips. You'll see more people driving because it's still cheaper than flying.

Whether you were a greeter at Wal-Mart or a sales manager or bookkeeper in another industry, these are skills that can transfer easily to the hospitality industry.

Travel spending could be flat this summer instead of seeing 8 percent increases like we've seen in the past.

We expect the fall travel season across the United States to be down just slightly under one percent, ... stable.

We know that if people are confident in their discretionary income and the health of the economy, they tend to worry less about rising travel costs, including gas prices.

After 9/11, there was a real shift toward family-oriented travel. Visiting small-town America became more popular as people were looking for a piece of Americana. You have your big all-American cities, but the majority of the country is small areas with fun events and cultural traditions that are a draw these days.

Aquariums are popular because they fill what people are looking for in a vacation. There has been a trend toward family-oriented vacations and traditional type of vacations. People also want their vacations to have an educational component that is disguised as fun. When you are doing a big downtown revitalization project, it makes sense to have a flagship attraction that you can build around.

That's natural, though, based on the phenomenal growth in '05.

You reach a saturation point with domestic tourism. It increases with the population, but that's about it. The growth in travel and tourism is really in the international market.

Its a phenomenon, and it has really taken hold in the industry, ... It really brings people into some of the smaller areas, the rural areas that are not like first-tier destinations.

It's a phenomenon, and it has really taken hold in the industry, ... It really brings people into some of the smaller areas, the rural areas that are not like first-tier destinations.

For a lot of people, it's become a chance to take a week-long vacation.

It looks like we'll probably sustain $3 a gallon gas throughout the summer.

It's had a big impact on the economy, especially as conventions have had to relocate. But by the end of the year, I think we are going to see recovery workers leaving and more venues opening up. I don't think tourists are going to give up on the city for long.

In the fourth quarter of 2005, we saw a slowdown, and we're seeing that slowdown continue into the first quarter of 2006.