US operators look forward to a positive 2011

The US travel industry is hoping for an incident-free 2011 and a respite from the succession of jolts that have held back visitor numbers in 2010.

A strengthening dollar (in the first part of the year), the disruption to travel caused by the Icelandic volcano eruption, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the British Airways strikes and the FIFA 2010 World Cup in June/July all conspired to suppress sales, but the horizon ahead is already looking brighter. While most pundits agree 2011 will likely be a year of economic restraint, there are reasons to be cheerful for those selling US holidays. The pound has rebounded against the US dollar, making the US a better value-for-money option than many other popular long haul destinations.

In response to increased demand, several operators – including Cosmos, Kuoni, Funway Holidays and Thomson – have added new product to their 2011 USA programmes.

Funway has introduced more 'experiential product', like Napa Valley wine tours and Harley Davidson rentals, along with more US cities, and North America product manager Casey Hurford said sales for 2011 are tracking on a par with this year. "Funway enjoyed strong sales in key destinations like Las Vegas, Florida, New York and California, which is why we have increased our product range substantially in 2011."

Jetset chairman John Bond said numbers are still solid through all the usual best-selling gateways. "Orlando continues to be our best sell with Florida Villas, which are close to Disney, being great value for families at £100 per day. These are now more requested than hotels or apartments.

"When looking at early 2011 trends, Las Vegas remains popular but on the west coast we're selling more motorhomes for independent travel out of Los Angeles." North American Travel Service enjoyed 'solid growth' in 2010 and forward business for 2011 is up on the same time last year, said managing director, Ruby Briggs.

"We're seeing strong demand for weddings and honeymoons in Hawaii, and California is performing very well, mainly multi-centre, self-drive itineraries. There's a lot of interest in the national parks and canyonlands of the western US states."