After Sept. 11 Attacks, Families Reevaluate Their Travel Plans

Should we or shouldn’t we?

Before Sept. 11, many of us couldn’t decide whether to spring for a vacation or go visit relatives because the economy was uncertain. Now we wonder whether it’s safe to take our kids anywhere.

At the same time, we feel an overwhelming need to connect with family and friends who may live thousands of miles away. We need to reassure our kids and ourselves that a lot of good remains in the world. After seeing how brutally lives can be taken away, we want to hold fast to those we love most. We want to create as many happy memories as we can.

“Travel is still good for families,” said Dr. Bennett Leventhal, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Chicago. “You can see friends and family, visit interesting places and develop memories that will last a lifetime. None of these values of travel has changed, even with the events of [Sept. 11].”

If only it were that simple. More than one-third of those polled by the marketing firm Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown said they would cancel a vacation as a result of the terrorist attacks. Nearly 70% said they would drive instead of fly, and the airlines are slashing schedules and employees as a result.

Businesses are scaling back on travel, and conventions are being postponed. Planes are empty. So are theme parks and hotels. Cruise bookings are down dramatically, said Don Walker, whose company, Travel Services International, books 250,000 cabins a year.

Although family travel to New York City had increased by 45% in the last five years, one-fourth of those polled now say they won’t go to New York on vacation.

“I encourage people from all over who want to help,” New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has said. “I have a great way of helping: Come here and spend money.”

So where does this leave typical families, who collectively take 100 million trips with children every year? Should we cancel a weekend trip to pick pumpkins? Should we cancel Thanksgiving travel plans? I think not. We can’t let terrorists make us afraid to visit our families. We can hope that air travel will be safer in the future because of increased security. We can take more time and travel by car or train.

We can look for vacation spots wherever we feel secure. Maybe this is the year to try a mountain getaway in the snow. Maybe this is the year for a getaway closer to home.

New Hampshire attorney Steve Tober is looking for travel destinations to which he can drive. “When the lines get smaller at customs, Montreal is a treat,” he said.

“We’re going to see a rebound,” said travel researcher and marketing expert Peter Yesawich, who is sure we’ll be seeing unprecedented vacation deals as airlines and hotels try to lure us.

Orlando’s Holiday Inn Family Suites already has announced a new deal--$109 per night for a two-bedroom suite, including free breakfast and dinner for kids under 12 and two adults. (Call [877] 387-5437 or visit https://www.hifamilysuites.com. Visit https://www.orlandoinfo.com for other deals.)

“We may alter how we travel, but we can’t run,” said Holiday Inn managing partner Terry Whaples. “That can help a lot when we feel like we have no control.”

After a week in which Whaples’ hotel, like others around the country, lost thousands of bookings for the coming months, the reservation phones have begun to ring again, Whaples said. “It’s extremely encouraging. It means people are beginning to make plans and go on with their lives.”

Californian Jane Marcus is still planning a trip this month to share her birthday with her son at a college in Ohio. “I’m trying to focus on the positive sense of faith and hope,” she said.

Some tourist industry reports suggest that families planning holiday trips aren’t canceling yet.

“We always go to Houston for Thanksgiving, and we’re still planning to do that,” says Melanie Wallace, who lives in Boston.

“Will we all be on the same plane? That I don’t know. Will we drive? Maybe. All of that is up for discussion.”

Cindy Hartog, a mother of three who lives in Connecticut, still plans to fly to California for Thanksgiving. “We need as many pleasant things in our lives as we can get right now,” she said. “I’m not willing to give that up.”

Me either.

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Taking the Kids appears twice a month.