Florida Expects
Short Term
Impact On Golf
and Travel Industry
By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer
ORLANDO, FL (SEPT. 18, 2001) – With the number of injured, dead, and missing on the rise in New York City and Washington D.C., and the country mounting a $40 billion war effort against terrorism, thoughts of the golf and travel industry’s future vitality have faded almost completely into the background.
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Eventually, American peacetime industry will have to come to grips with how the horrific events of September 11 will affect the way they do business, and perhaps more importantly, the impacts the Attack on America will have on profits.
Already, the county’s airlines and insurance industries have come under intense financial pressure that could force a number of companies into bankruptcy. The golf and travel industry is closely tied to the airline industry, especially when it comes to golf trips to the more than 1200 courses of the Sunshine State.
Al Gaspari, President of Orlando based World of Golf Tours, said that 85 to 88 percent of the golf packages that his company sells are to players flying into the Orlando airport. Gaspari, who has over seven years experience in the golf package business, said that quantifying the impacts on the industry is impossible at this juncture.
“Who has a crystal ball?” Gaspari asked. “The thing is this, the entire mental attitude of the traveling public will change today. They will come to the realization that our air service system is not foolproof and people will be thinking about that the next time they make a reservation to do anything. The general public is in shock, but the question remains, what impact will it have on the prime time season?”
Robert Lewis, President of TravelGolf.com, predicts that Florida will experience some severe short term impacts that could completely alter this year’s peak winter season.
“We are getting ready to go to war against an ambiguous foe whose first strike against us was made by using our own airplanes, our own jet fuel, and our own pilots, of course there is going to be some short term travel fall out,” Lewis said.”
A student of the golf and travel industry for nearly 10 years, Lewis said that golf based travel to Florida will eventually return to normal if the federal government takes the necessary steps to improve airline safety.
“The Federal Aviation Administration, under the direction of President Bush and Congress will have to take major steps in airline safety to make Americans feel that flying is once again the safest way to travel around the country,” Lewis said. “I don’t think things will return to normal without significant federal intervention. The images are burned too deep into people’s minds.”
For more information on golf based travel to Myrtle Beach, contact TravelGolf.com at (520) 219-5760.
TravelGolf.com publishes 24 online travel and golf publications including MichiganGolf.com, ScotlandGolf.com, OntarioGolf.com, MyrtlebeachGolf.com, GolfOhio.com, GolfCarolina.com, Florida Golf and GolfArizona.com.
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