Inflation and Cost of Living Worries Forcing Many to Consider Forgoing Summer Vacations
BOULDER, Colorado, - The summer vacation is under attack. Record prices at the pump and on grocery shelves are taking a chunk out of holiday budgets. In the ensuing frenzy, the media has created a new word and concept... the "staycation." But one group of active travel professionals refuses to sit idly by and watch the demise of this year's annual right to escape.
In a recent emailing to over 100,000 adventure enthusiasts, Trusted Adventures travel alliance, has raised the call to join the "anti-staycation" movement.
"Honestly," writes alliance director Dave Wiggins, "who ever thought a week or more at home could replace the rest and rejuvenation a real vacation can bring?" At home, he explains, "you're stuck staring at a house that needs painting, a lawn mower that needs pushing or another trip to the local mall or over-packed swimming pool."
Instead, Wiggins suggests, you should be out "discovering a new country and its cuisine, rafting a remote desert canyon, biking and hiking, fishing and having fun."
In its mailing, which can be viewed online, the eight member companies of Trusted Adventures offer their best summer trips with prime spaces still available. Diverse offerings include walking in Wales, family fun in Yellowstone, rafting in Utah's Canyonlands and Idaho's Salmon River Canyons, spa vacations in Ecuador, bear viewing in Alaska and even an Indiana Jones-style expedition to the Maya discovery site of the original Crystal Skull in Belize.
Some trips come with special discounted pricing and all encourage you to park the car and burn the natural, renewable energy of hiking, paddling, pedaling and horseback riding. Since rates were set nearly a year ago before inflated gas and food prices were factored in, summer trips in 2008 offer exceptional value.
"Nothing at home can replace the renewal of spirit made possible by a real vacation escape," says Wiggins.
Trusted Adventures was established in 2005 and is made up of eight distinguished members: Austin-Lehman Adventures, Wildland Adventures, Euro-Bike & Walking Tours, Western River Expeditions, Myths and Mountains, The Wayfarers, ROW Adventures and Great Alaska International Adventure Vacations. The alliance helps match active individuals, families and groups with nature and culture adventures, walking, rafting, cycling and trekking vacations throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. The company's website offers fast and dependable one-stop shopping for over 350 unique trips to over 85 destinations worldwide. Visit them online at www.trustedadventures.com/.
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