SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — If you're planning to travel this holiday season, you could be paying more, but there are ways to save.
"Everything's gonna cost more," said David Fishman, owner and president of Cadillac Travel Group.
Fishman said airfares have increased 23% to 26% over the last year. He blamed a combination of factors for the surge.
"Unfortunately, the perfect storm. Increase in the cost of fuel, discount carriers disappearing, less seats," Fishman said.
Still, he said people are continuing to book trips, and it's not too late for you to do the same.
"People are still trying to find a way to go. Maybe they won't go as many times or as often as they did before, so that's one way of doing it. And maybe finding, like you said, other destinations to travel to that are more off season and things, that can save them some money and still have an amazing experience," Fishman said.
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He says many are turning to international destinations, particularly Europe, during off season, which may offer better value than domestic trips.
Another tip to save money comes down to the days you choose to fly.
"Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. It's not about when you buy your tickets, cause that's computer generated inventory control. It's the days that you travel on. Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Saturdays are the least traveled days. If you can travel on those days, not only are you're gonna save money, but you are also going to have less hassles and lines at the airport," Fishman said.
He also recommended returning before the New Year price spike.
Joe DiFranco, Exceptional Journeys director of leisure travel, also say despite higher ticket prices, leisure travel is showing no signs of revenue or volume decline.
"Travel is just as high, if not higher for holiday travel from last year, so the inquires and bookings are strong," DiFranco said.
DiFranco has noticed a notable trend toward later bookings than in previous years and inquires for Christmas travel remain strong even into late October.
Travelers are moving away from traditional warm weather destinations like the Caribbean or Florida in favor of cultural trips to major European cities.
"What we're seeing are people that are using it more just for your typical cultural trips, going into the big cities of Europe and things you would see for families only in the summer months," DiFranco said.
His advice:
- Travelers should avoid flying immediately after Christmas
- Traveling on Christmas Day can offer bigger savings so can extending trips into January
For travelers hoping to wait out the high prices, there's bad news. Dr. Michael Belzer, an emeritus professor of economics at Wayne State University and an expert in transportation economics, said geopolitical conflicts and fuel costs are driving up airfare and impacting the broader economy.
"That cost, which is a lot more, is not going to be wished away by a magical wand from the White House that is now baked in, and we can expect that to last for many years," Belzer said.
He says prices are unlikely to go down anytime soon.
"The reason that's not going to happen is that diesel prices and kerosene prices or jet fuel prices are not going down and anytime soon. We say that fuel costs or oil prices spike up and flutter down. So, it's called shoots and feathers, basically. So, it shoots up real fast because nobody wants to get stuck paying for not covering the high cost of fuel, but they're all very cautious about reducing their prices," Belzer said.
Belzer said the economy is seeing a divide where winners remain stable while lower-income earners face significant financial pressure and may cancel or not take the trip.
To manage rising costs, he said travelers are likely to use the substitution effect, such as choosing cheaper hotels or restaurants to offset expensive flights.
"That market for hotel space might be more competitive. So you might be able to save on a cheaper hotel. You might be able to save on cheaper restaurants. This is called the substitution effect. So people will substitute, they will juggle all these costs," Belzer said.
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