Major retailers tend to have their fingers on the pulse of what people want. You can get a pretty good idea of what people are buying by looking at the amount of real estate a store allocates to a particular product category or subject area. Using this measure, it looks like the travel industry is in for a long year.
The other evening I was waiting to have dinner with a friend, who was running late, as usual. With some extra time on my hands I went across the street to Borders to kill some time. My normal first stop is the travel section, where I tend to browse through the titles and see if anything catches my eye. I was surprised to see that the section that previously spanned three rows had been reduced to a single aisle.
As I was scanning the reduced selection of books, it occurred to me that this was just the latest sign of the downward trend in travel. With fewer people planning to travel this year, it seems logical that less people would be buying travel books. Further, it is logical that the types of trips that require extensive research are most affected by an economic downturn. Most people I know are putting that big trip of a lifetime on hold for a shorter trip to a destination near by. Who needs a guide book for a driving destination to visit your wife’s family?
Well, we may not be planning as many big trips, but we can always read about travel. My favorite bookstore is Globe Corner Bookstore, located in Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA. If you are looking for a few recommendations to get you through until your next trip, the store’s web site has an excellent set of Staff Picks organized by region. Check it out.
