Summer Vacation Planning Sparks Upswing in Travel, AAA Barometer Shows

    ORLANDO, Fla.--April 24, 2003--As the summer vacation season approaches, interest in travel is on the upswing, especially drive trips as AAA's online routing requests increased for the fourth straight week to their highest level of the year.
    The weekly AAA National Travel Barometer shows requests for online TripTik(R) routings the week of April 14 are up more than 5 percent at 118,900 compared to 112,700 the week of April 7.
    Overall travel agency bookings increased 3 percent with bookings for cruises and tour packages leading the way while visits to AAA travel offices rose substantially.
    The AAA barometer is based on a sample of 13 clubs representing more than half of the association's 46 million members. It is intended to help gauge the strength of the leisure travel market.
    "Many Americans seemingly are putting whatever concerns they still have about the situation in Iraq, SARS and the economy behind them and instead putting their thoughts on more leisure-oriented activities," said AAA Travel Vice President Sandra Hughes. "Interest in travel should be even higher in the coming weeks as more people make plans for their summer vacations."
    Overall AAA Travel Agency bookings -- cruises, tour packages, car rentals and hotels -- last week (29,200) were at 103 percent of what they were the previous week (28,500).
    A summary of the AAA National Travel Barometer's measurements for the week of April 14:

--	Tour packages (8,000) were 107 percent of the previous week (7,500).
--	Cruise bookings were 104 percent (4,900) of the previous week's total (4,700).
--	Hotel bookings totaled 101 percent (12,100) as opposed to the prior week (12,000).
--	Car rental reservations were equal to the week previous (4,300).

    Visits to AAA's more than 1,000 travel offices were at 117 percent (32,000) of the same period last week (27,400). (All numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.)
    As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides its members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully-tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.

    (Editor's Note: AAA's National Travel Barometer will be released weekly. It is a sample of 13 AAA clubs and is intended to provide information about the state of leisure travel).