One roof but hundreds of vacations to check out
Somsavath Phanthady
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BOSTON - Thousands people turned up at Boston Globe Travel Show last weekend, making it one of the biggest show to date.
"It is the best that has been in probably the last 10 years," said Randy Radkay, a visitor from New Hampshire.
Radkay and his wife attend the event every year and they were impressed with this year's show, because "it's much more diversified . . . and more opportunities in tours. It's used to be too overloaded with cruises and the Caribbean."
The Radkays didn't book anything at the show because they had already booked a vacation to Costa Rica, leaving in two weeks. They may go to China from there.
The show brought in more than 250 exhibitors from Africa, America, Asia, the Caribbean, and Europe. It included budget vacations, adventure travel, cruises, weekend getaways, luxury escapes and exotic destinations. One exhibitor represented Papua New Guinea.
Kerry Byrd, director of Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority in California, came to the show hoping to tap into a new market of travelers: college students. He said students "are more adept to go off somewhere of the beaten track, away from mass tourism, try to find something that is not just as cliché as Hawaii, Tahiti, or Fiji."
Byrd said he attended the New York Times' Travel Show two years in a row but skipped it this year to come to Boston. The response from New York was positive and he hoped for the same feedback in Boston.
Most overseas exhibitors were enthusiastic about the U.S. market. Adeline Lee Erasito, a regional marketing officer from the Fiji Visitors Bureau, said the U.S. is a growing market. Last year more than 62,000 Americans visited Fiji and Erasito said more are expected this year.
With freezing temperatures, most visitors were looking for a quick warm-up, and the Caribbean and rivers cruises were hot. Janet Rossi, exhibitor from the Boston office of the Viking Rivers Cruise, said river cruises have become very popular; so much so that she ran out of brochures Saturday afternoon. "The other sales representative had to go to get some more," she said.
Nancy Thayer, a visitor from Natick, said a weak economy and U.S. dollar may influence the way people travel. She said people are more likely to travel within the United States this year. She came to look for a warm U.S. destination for a vacation such as Florida or Hawaii.
"The New Yorkers are more interested in the exotic," Byrd said. "I think it's maybe the Caribbean and all those areas. The sun is out down there, the sand is white, the water is blue, and it's snowing out here in Boston. So I think they are all heading to try to warm up quickly and cheaply," he said.
However, "The younger people are very interested in going [Papua New Guinea]," Byrd said.