Summer's big chill: Soaring costs could sock Orlando-area tourism

Groups representing everyone from motorists to airlines are issuing less-than-rosy forecasts ahead of the pivotal summer-travel season, with some predicting travel declines for the first time in years.

[Starflyer59]

Gas prices have all ready cut down our trips. We usually make about 6 -8 trips a year to Orlando, disney, sea world and because of gas prices we have not been to Orlando since Dec. We just cannot afford the gas to get there.

[Edward]

Who is going to make up the difference in the tax money for the Venues since not as many tourist will be coming and the ones that do come will not be staying as long.

[Doug]

Didn't the Slantinel just have an article up yesterday saying tourism was up in Central FL? geezzzz... if you are going to slant... slant consistently in the same direction...

[Ping Pong]

That 360,000 will be a drop in the bucket, compared to that number times three of international tourists that will be coming to the ever, cheep U.S. With a weak dollar, the international crowd will be heading our way. I just got back from Europe, where it's nearly twice as expensive for U.S. folks to go. The Europeans have the economic upper hand, right now. I don't think the travel industry destination owners should worry. It's the smaller, more regional tourist destinations that will suffer; the places that U.S. folks would mostly only go to, not international travelers.

[Liberals Hate Facts]

"gloom/doom" SLANT.......

And what Americans don't spend...the overseas tourists will.

[KLC]

Disney, Seaworld, KSC are just as crowded and unpleasant as ever. If the crowds ever thin out, I'll go back but I'm not paying that much to stand in lines all day.

[Chester DeGrasse]

The overwhelming majority of tourists to Orlando are Americans. The American economy is in the toilet. Therefore, what would you expect?

[Orlando Homegrown]

I find it amusing that our state and national level government agencies insist on running our lives in just about every arena,(try adding a 3 X 6 concrete pad to your porch and see what you have to do to get a legal permit!) yet when it comes to the petroleum companies gouging the American people out of billions and billions of our hard erarned incomes they are surprisingly quiet! Or when the insurance companies make billions off the backs of the populace and then have to pay out on hurricane damage and the government allows them to tack on anywhere from $2,000 dollars right on up to held "DEFRAY" THEIR cost! What about all those years of gobbling up our money and not having to ever re-emburse any of us for the years that they never had to pay out a single dime! Or then there is the medical professionand drug companies that has risen up to hold their own among the financial giants of today where the average cost of just a simple fracture of the arm may very well set you back $10,000 by the time all the dust settles from the cast being setand the medication that is the life line for many on social security takes up almost their entire SS check! I'm a blue collar worker that is facing retirement within the next 5 to 10 years and I can already see the handwriting on the wall! The rich are getting filthy rich and the poor are getting desperately poorer and our illustrious political leaders are not lifting a hand to redirect our economy away from the rocky shores! I believe that is truly the way they want it to be!

[Michael]

If you been to the parks, why would you want to keep coming back here. There are more educational places to visit than the theme parks.

Plus you hard earned money goes for profit for the shareholders and CEO's. Not the little man, plust at nearly $70.00 per person its a rip off.

[mosco]

What some ranters are saying about foreign tourists visiting could help immensely if Americans cut back. But right now, I see homes vacant or not used where I live at a much higher rate than normal.

[palm beach]

I think the parks should lower some of ther prices. It's outrageous! A family of 4 have trouble affording it.

[Tourist Tax]

As tourism declines, so does revenues from the tourist tax. Some of the tax is being used to pay for the new Orena, performing arts center and refurbished Citrus Bowl. Who pays for those venues when the tousit tax revenue isn't there anymore. The citizens? Oops, no, we were promised that would never happen. Yeah, right!

[Some Guy]

Gas prices continue to go up (despite Fla politico SHOVING a gas/Ethanol blend down out throats). Food costs are now rising due to a lack of corn (feed) which is being used to make an inefficient fuel (Ethanol). Thank you Washington! Way to screw up again!

[Joe]

This is WHY! Orlando leaders need to attract other industries that are not attached to the Mouse. This is going to bring this town into a deep rescession if job cuts take place.

[really concerned citizen]

This all part of the bush plan. HE blames the terrorists while in the truth he is the terrorist. What a better way for all of his associates (oil barrons) to get richer, make the gas prices higher. Foreclose on as many properties as possible (banks). Giving more properties to sell all over again, (real estate agents).

[JUSTICE]

Starflyer59 wrote:

Gas prices have all ready cut down our trips. We usually make about 6 -8 trips a year to Orlando, disney, sea world and because of gas prices we have not been to Orlando since Dec. We just cannot afford the gas to get there.

President Bush made sure to preempt any real investigation into price gouging by his financial backers in the oil/gas industry when last year he appointed a former ChevronTexaco lawyer, Deborah Majoras, to head the FTC.

Deborah Majoras. The Federal Trade Commission chairwoman is the FTC's point person on its gasoline price gauging inquiry in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately, in her prior life at the Jones Day law firm she was also the point person for Chevron-Texaco and Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root. In 2004, Senator Ron Wyden opposed her nomination for her refusal to outline the steps she would take to investigate and fight gas price gauging.

[JJR]

We'll probably see a lot less Griswald families from middle America vacationing in Orlando this summer. We'll probably still see a fair amount of Schroeders from Germany and Wellingtons from the UK with the dollar to Euro conversion.

Then again, you will still get those families who will drive an RV cross-country regardless the price of gas in order to fullfil a family tradition.

I never understood why people buy timeshares and continously come back to the same place for vacation. I guess I am the type of person to visit different places when I go on vacation.

[JJR]

really concerned citizen wrote:

This all part of the bush plan. HE blames the terrorists while in the truth he is the terrorist. What a better way for all of his associates (oil barrons) to get richer, make the gas prices higher. Foreclose on as many properties as possible (banks). Giving more properties to sell all over again,(real estate agents).

Right, middle class Americans desire to drive a bigger car than they need, eat more food than they need, and live in a bigger house than they need are not to blame for our current economic slowdown and increase in cost of living, only the President.

I think you also need to consider the consequences many Fortune 500 business leaders made in outsourcing to India and China. The growing economies of India and China is a big reason why the global demand for oil has increased.

[JimmyThe Greek]

Starflyer59 wrote:

Gas prices have all ready cut down our trips. We usually make about 6 -8 trips a year to Orlando, disney, sea world and because of gas prices we have not been to Orlando since Dec. We just cannot afford the gas to get there.

You can still buy gas for 20 cents a gallon.....YES that's right...20 cents a gallon...Gas has not gone up...the phoney money we use has gone down.
To prove it, I went to my local service station and gave him 20 pre-1964 dimes, you know... the ones made of silver, not nickel plated copper...He gladly accepted my 20 dimes, worth $40. and gave me 10 gallons of gasoline. He even made money on the deal...the gas was only worth $36.
The problem is that someone has been 'counterfeiting' our currency,{Federal Reserve] a PRIVATE Corporation, and convincing us that it's real. The wonderful Arabs will no longer accept our phoney money and therefore want more than 20 cents per gallon...they want $3.69 per gallon.
Do some reading of our Constitution and you will see that we have sold our birth right for a bowl of lentils.

[DCM]

Joe wrote:

This is WHY! Orlando leaders need to attract other industries that are not attached to the Mouse. This is going to bring this town into a deep rescession if job cuts take place.

Their doing good so far, they attracted the Burnham Institute, convinced AirTrain to keep its corporate headquarters in Orlando, convinced Nemours to build its new childrens hospital in Orlando, and JetBlue has promised to expand its base operations here in Orlando. Im sure more is on the way.