PLEASURE TRAVEL MORE POPULAR DURING CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS

Area travel agents are booking more pleasure trips this holiday season than necessity trips.

Agents said lower air fares and a boost in the economy have likely triggered such a trend.

Domestic travel is popular, Designing Travel Agent Peggy McLain said.

A lot of families are going to Florida this Christmas, she said. People also are planning now for summer.

"That's a good sign for us because the more advance time we have, the easier it is to come up with better packages," McLain said.

Jackie Hubbard of the Allied Travel Agency said cruises and ski packages are popular.

"We're getting a lot of inquiries on those kinds of trips," she said.

Cape Girardeau travelers are also turning trips into Christmas gifts.

"We're seeing a lot of people do that this year," AAA Travel Agent Jane Harte said.

Some interest has been expressed in Alaskan cruises.

"People who have already gone tell somebody else and they end up coming to us for the same package," Harte said.

Danita Chipman of the Carlson Travel Network said the period between Christmas and New Year's is the busiest time of the year for travel agents.

"It gets real busy between November and December and then really goes strong between December and New Year's," she said.

Chipman said if travelers book their trips nine months in advance, they can save money. Travelers who get into that habit find they can afford more trips each year.

Carolyn Kempf of Elite Travel said travelers are learning they get reduced air fares from airlines such as Southwest because of personnel cutbacks.

"The airlines are trying to get away from passengers using tickets," Kempf said. "Southwest has already used a method of giving a confirmation number to minimize the number of people a traveler has to deal with at the airport. I think you'll see more and more of that in the future."