Americans are ready to travel again, but want to stick closer to home and stay on the ground.
Americans are ready to travel again, but not like they did before. People feel safer on the ground, and they want to take shorter trips closer to home, according to industry experts at the American Bus Marketplace.

The annual confab bringing together motor coach manufacturers, transportation companies, tour owners and travel destinations was held Feb. 1-6, 2003, in the Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis. Attending were more than 500 motor coach and tour operators and 1,600-plus representatives of the travel industry.

Like most of the travel industry, American Bus Association (ABA) members reported at least a 30% drop in business immediately following September 11th. But, in the second half of 2002, “people started coming back,” notes Butch Beckwith, co-owner of Turner Coaches in Terre Haute. Even with a down economy and terrorism fears, “people still need to get out. They can only stay home so long.”

Jennifer Hopkins, sales manager of Palladin Tour and Travel in New Jersey, agrees. “I guess people think that if they’re losing money in the stock market, they can still win at gambling.” Her company, specializing in casino tours, has had a steady increase in bookings.

The opposite is true in Washington, D.C. There, school trips – always lucrative for bus tour operators – have dropped off more than 60%. “We were just starting to recover from September 11th, when the sniper shootings happened,” says Peter J. Pantuso, president and CEO of the ABA.

Bus travel has become more important to travelers since the terrorist attacks. “We used to do a lot of trips where the groups would fly one way and board a coach for the return,” says Charles Zelle, president of Jefferson Lines in Minneapolis, Minn., and chairman of ABA. “Now they want to be on the ground both ways.”

Part of the change is attributable to terrorism jitters, but the hassles of airplane travel are a big concern. Buses have more legroom, provide point-to-point transit, don’t require security checks, don’t weigh your baggage and don’t have the long waits now associated with air travel. Beckwith, whose company handles transport for three colleges, notes that it usually takes athletic teams less time to drive to away games than to fly.

Companies report the same number of customers, but say that those customers are choosing shorter trips. One-, two- and three-day trips are much more popular than the traditional 10-day or two week journeys. Doug Anderson, president of Anderson Coach and Travel in Pennsylvania speculates that this is due to a couple of reasons: “the tightened economy and the perceived need to be closer to home.”

Intermodal was another buzzword on the marketplace floor. Instead of considering themselves as self-contained transportation providers, motor coach and tour operators are thinking of ways to link not only with operators in other markets, but with other modes of transportation as well.

Zelle’s company, for example, schedules transfers to rural transit systems, other major carriers such as Greyhound and airports. “Just one of our trips could involve airplanes, buses and a cruise ship,” Anderson notes. “People are more interested in the destination than in the way they get there,” adds Beckwith.

And, speaking of destinations, the American Bus Marketplace was a good opportunity for Indianapolis. Not only did the city get a chance to showcase itself (all of the sightseeing tours were completely booked up by day two), but destinations throughout the region were using the opportunity to buttonhole motor coach and tour operators. The ABA estimates that one overnight spent by one bus group results in $5,000 to $11,00 in direct tourist spending – that’s big bucks, folks.

The Midwest is seen as a stable, safe area. Most of the travelers here are domestic, so carriers aren’t experiencing the downturns seen on both coasts from the steep drop in international visitors.

But, there’s another reason: The American Bus Association has a 14-year history with Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis: a continuing education program for professionals. The Certified Travel Industry Specialist (CTIS) program is a series of seven courses administered by IUPUI, all of which are available either by correspondence or on-line.

The American Bus Association, the trade association of the intercity bus industry, represents the motor coach industry's interests in Washington, D.C. It also facilitates relationships between North American motor coach and tour companies and all related segments of the travel and supplier industries and promotes travel by motor coach to consumers.

ABA represents approximately 950 motor coach and tour companies in the United States and Canada. Its members operate charter, tour, regular route, airport express, special operations and contract services (commuter, school, transit). Another 2,300 member organizations represent the travel and tourism industry and suppliers of bus products and services who work in partnership with the North American motor coach industry. Founded in 1926, the ABA was originally called the Motor Bus Division of the American Automobile Association. Reorganized in 1930 as the National Association of Motor Bus Operators, it changed its name in 1960 to National Association of Motor Bus Owners. The organization became the American Bus Association in 1977.

The ABA keeps a list of Internationally Known Events, and annually selects the Top 100 events in North America. What’s the top ABA event for 2003? Pigeon Forge Winterfest in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

About the Author

Susan McKee, M.A., M.S., is a writer in America's heartland. She is the travel editor for Indianapolis Eye.