Amy Ziff Quotations

Last year was a massive year for holiday travel. The summer kept going in that direction, and we have the same expectation for this year despite fuel costs. If you wait until November, I think you run the risk of not getting what you want or paying a whole lot more to get what you want.

People will take last-minute vacations if they see a deal.

I don't suggest changing a large amount of money at an airport. That is the way to pay the most in fees and get the worst exchange rate.

Kids have to stretch their legs more than adults. Make sure you let them expend some energy.

When it comes to travel, everyone's threshold is different. A $1,000 trip may be less valuable to an affluent traveler than to someone who saved their money all year.

Tickets sold for both Thanksgiving and Christmas are ahead of where they were last year, so it looks like people have tried to book early to beat some of the price increases, ... A key message for customers would probably be to book now for the holidays and not delay to avoid further price increases as the airlines' inventory gets short.

There are three types of travelers. One says after a tragedy like the Madrid bombings, 'I'm just going to carry on,' and continues with his or her planned trip. Another says, 'I'll go to Prague instead.' But the third says, 'Because of the bombings I'm going to get a great deal by going to Madrid,' and books a trip there.

When both Christmas and New Year's fall on a weekend, that means we're going to see a lot of people trying to get out of town and take this entire week off.

Some travelers are such bargain hunters, ... that if the price is $25 different between Paris and Rome, they change their destination.

Technology has become such an integral part of travelers' lives that many of us find it impossible to completely unplug.

Despite terrorist threats, fuel price rises, and a weak dollar, ... Americans feel free to travel again, especially to Europe, where they've been going in increasing numbers.

Despite trend-setting travelers spreading the word about exotic destinations around the world, many people still choose to visit the same destination year after year. Even still, international travel is on the rise, with the Caribbean and Europe leading the way for 2006.

That tells me Katrina is having a minimal impact on Labor Day travel.

If you can stay an extra day or two, maybe leave a day or two earlier. It'll make your flying experience a whole lot more enjoyable, and it may even bring down that price substantially.

For the holiday travel period, I always say earlier is better.

The two weeks immediately following Thanksgiving are actually the slowest travel times throughout the entire year, and you tend to see great sales at a number of destinations.