Economic collapse, a continued worsening of the American image abroad, airlines foundering, gas and ticket prices soaring — 2008 was, let’s face it, a crappy year for travelers. The airline and airport experience continued to deteriorate, and the Travel Security Administration did little to alleviate our fears. Actually, the TSA often did more to ramp up the discomfort, as ably catalogued in this post from Gadling.

And yet, there will be a bright side to all this, I think. As a nation, we’ve reached a point where we’ll have to deal with our demons and with each other to get through to the other side; with luck, we’ll come out stronger, more thoughtful and more purpose-driven for it.

With an eye toward how the travel world might be remade for the better, here are my wishes for 2009.

— A return to longer vacations: The Slow Travel movement has a lot to recommend it, beginning with lower costs, but perhaps more importantly, a much smaller carbon footprint and a much less harmful way to participate in global tourism. Lots of fast, short trips result in a cascade of negative side effects. First off, there’s the fuel use, cost and pollution. Secondly, there is the unintended impact on local culture. Anyone who has visited a seaside town before and after it became a cruise port will know what I mean. Thousands of visitors who spend only a few hours or a day in a place result in a terrible skewing of the local economy and labor toward souvenir shacks, ice cream parlors and bars. It can ruin the place for the people who live there (and, incidentally, the tourists who caused the upheaval).

— A curbing of industrial tourism: As an appendix to the above, it’s much cheaper to rent a room in a locally owned hotel, inn or home, than it is to book an all-inclusive where you’ll be cosseted with thousands of other Minnesotans, Wisconsinites and Canadians fleeing winter. And you’re helping the local economy. Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean are paying a terrible cost for our banking and mortgage woes. (As a Bolivian man explained to me once, “When America sneezes, we catch a cold.”

— People power: Get off the gas and onto your feet (or bike or canoe). A hike in a state park is good for your soul, good for your body, and easy on your checkbook.

— Mass transit: This crisis may help Megabus and services like it establish a stronger niche, again saving energy and money. Why isn’t there good bus service to the North Shore, and then back and forth along it? I know the answer; because until now it’s been cheap enough to drive there. That may change. Don’t let this $1.50 gas fool you. It will be back in $5 territory soon enough.

— A passenger bill of rights: New Congress, new ideas. Let’s have rules for carry-ons, for disembarking delayed planes and some common-sense rules for re-ticketing and refunds. As Americans rethink how they travel, the airlines should have some consistent guidelines for civilized and safe flying.

— Protection for the federal lands surrounding National Parks. The Bush Administration rule changes during this “midnight regulation” period are essentially a series of giveaways to favored industries (oil, natural gas and mining). There is no need for a mine anywhere near the Grand Canyon, nor drilling near Arches National Park in Utah.

That’s a handful of the hopes I have for the New Year. What are yours?

This entry was posted on Monday, December 29th, 2008 at 2:32 pm and is filed under airlines, airports, consumer, gas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.