After a recessionary chorus of Homeward Bound, American vacationers are humming On the Road Again - but a fragile economic recovery, coupled with lingering security concerns and hassles, could strike a dissonant chord in 2011. Some prognostications on where and how we'll be plotting trips in the coming year:
Civil War Sesquicentennial: Despite a shortage of federal and state funds - and what continues to be a contentious debate over the conflict's origins - historians and travel promoters are gearing up for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865. Among next year's key events: the April 12 anniversary of the official first shot at Fort Sumter in Charleston, S.C., (above) and a July 21-24 re-enactment in Manassas, Va., where the war's initial major land battle took place.
Royal romance in London: Already primping for the Summer Olympics and 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's reign in 2012, the United Kingdom's capital anticipates an influx of royal watchers for the April 29 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey. Hotels are increasing rates and starting to impose minimum stays, notes Orbitz, and "if Charles and Diana got 600,000 people who came into London for that wedding, I could see a million for this one," guidebook author and travel expert Pauline Frommer told the Associated Press.
Read the full story at:http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2010/12/dusting-off-the-crystal-globe-travel-trends-for-2011/136348/1
