Politcal Travel: Support Your Candidate With a Last-Minute Trip to a Swing State

I recently took a look at travel patterns on the days leading up to the three Presidential and one Vice Presidential debates and found a significant uptick in travel to host cities. Nashville (up 54 percent), Oxford (up 56 percent), St. Louis (up 72 percent) and New York (up 16 percent) all saw an increase in arrivals when compared to last year.

With the election less than three weeks away, more people are expected to visit the “swing states” in a final attempt to win votes for their candidate. Whether you’re looking to fly to a destinations or drive to a political battleground closer to home, for those passionate about politics, here is a sampling of last-minute deals travelers can find to Florida, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia:

photo courtesy of IgoUgo member ArnyZona

The Follies of Planning For Fall Travel

When it comes to dealing with the future of the airlines, the joys (or hassles) of air travel, and the menacing details of planning for far-off travel dates – we are all in the same boat. That’s right even I, who work in the travel biz, am too at the mercy of the airlines and their flight schedules.

*photo by Howard Ruby

Holiday Airfare: Buy Now or Later?

In Today in the Sky, Ben Mutzabaugh asks a question that I’ve been pondering myself: “With the high demand winter-holiday travel season approaching, should fliers find the best fares they can find now? Or, should they wait for fare sales that the airlines typically roll out in early fall?”

I’m not much of a gambler, so I decided to cut my potential losses and buy now. Last year, my roundtrip holiday ticket from SFO to DFW hovered right around $300. This year, it’s nearing $500, and I don’t want to risk it going any higher or not getting a seat at all.

Considering capacity cuts, the high cost of fuel and a potential drop in consumer demand, Ben’s blog also notes that “most industry observers say it’s still unclear just how much the capacity cutting will allow airlines to raise fares.”