• One in five of those surveyed said they would discourage close relatives or friends from traveling during the holidays.
• Thirty percent of travelers who changed travel routines say it will take six months to a year to resume pre-attack travel patterns.
• One in four travelers said that new security measures were insufficient to restore their confidence in travel to the way it was before the September 11 attacks.
• Seventy-nine percent say another terrorist attack in the U.S. is likely.

Last week, the Travel Business Roundtable called on lawmakers to take immediate action to help the travel and tourism industry recover from the devastating economic fallout that followed the events of September 11.

In a letter distributed to all members of Congress, Tisch said that the terrorist attacks have crippled the industry as public confidence in the safety of travel has been severely undermined.  "Hard data as well as anecdotal experience suggest that meetings are being postponed, all but critical corporate travel is being delayed, and individuals are canceling or postponing personal travel plans within the U.S. and abroad," wrote Tisch. 

"These disturbing trends are all occurring against the backdrop of an overall U.S. economy that is in decline."

According to Tisch, lawmakers should not be lulled into a false sense of security by the fact that some Americans are restoring their travel habits.  Most who are traveling now are doing so with deeply discounted airfares and hotel room rates -- in most cases at 50 percent or more below the normal fare or rate.

Among the TBR survey's findings:

• The travel business rebound will be slow.  Thirty percent who have changed travel habits say it will take from six months to one year to get back to the same level of out-of-town travel that they did prior to September 11.
• Holiday travel is likely to suffer.  One in five (20 percent) say they would discourage close family or friends from traveling during the holidays, due to security concerns.  Nearly three in ten (29%) who had been planning to fly over the Thanksgiving holiday have changed their mind, preferring to stay at home or use ground transportation, if available.
• Recent actions taken by the government and airlines to increase safety have failed to convince all travelers.  37 percent of those surveyed say it is the same or less safe to fly now, compared to before September 11.  Those who say they're traveling less now than before September 11 are more than twice as likely than the population as a whole to say that flying is unsafe.
• Increased security measures will still not get some consumers traveling again.  When asked if it were shown that there were dramatically increased security measures put in place to prevent security threats while traveling, 64 percent of the survey's business travelers who say they are traveling less than before the events of September 11 said it would not cause them to restore travel plans.
• Most travelers do not plan to avoid New York City or Washington, D.C.

• Travelers expect another attack.  79 percent of travelers think another terrorist attack is "likely" in the foreseeable future.  And while a majority (60 percent) said it is more important, in the long run, to return to a normal level of travel activity, that feeling is shared by only 40 percent of those traveling less since September 11, with 58 percent of them preferring to scale back their activities.
• The government and travel and tourism industry share responsibility to restore consumer confidence.  Respondents were split nearly evenly when asked whose actions would be more important to facilitate a return to more normal travel and leisure activities.  Forty-six percent indicated the government, in its efforts to hunt down the remaining perpetrators of the attacks, while 42 percent cited the transportation and travel industries, in their efforts to show that measures have been taken to ensure safety.
• The travel industry's response to the September 11 attacks receives high marks from consumers.  Over three-quarters (76 percent) of those surveyed indicated that the travel industry responded with efforts to restore the confidence of the traveling public "better than expected."

As the nation's second largest employer, with a pre-September 11 workforce of more than 17 million people, travel and tourism was the third largest U.S.  retail industry, with $582 billion in revenue in 2000.  Travel and tourism has emerged as America's second largest services export, responsible for a $17 billion trade surplus, and generated nearly $100 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues last year.

However, Tisch noted that over the past three weeks, more than 130,000 airline and aircraft-manufacturing employees have lost their jobs.  He added that the hotel industry has also announced significant layoffs and has projected 2001 losses to be nearly $2 billion.

"The immediate effects the September 11 attacks had on the travel and tourism industry are clear, but the continued economic fallout is still being assessed and quantified at the federal, state and local levels," said Tisch.  "Executives in the housing, retail or auto manufacturing industries would be panicked by survey results showing this kind of consumer reluctance."

The Travel Business Roundtable is a CEO-based organization representing all sectors of the travel and tourism industry, including major airlines, hotels and lodging, restaurants, retail outlets, travel management companies, car rental companies, financial services institutions and others.  The roster of members reflects the interdependence of all sectors of the travel and tourism industry and demonstrates the need to work collaboratively, especially during these challenging times.