Page 144 - Introduction to Tourism

some shifts to common carriers, but these inroads have

been small. However, because of the great dominance

of the automobile in travel, even a small shift in
automobile travel to the common carriers can result in

enormous increases in the carriers ’ business.

The automobile has played an even more important
role in travel because of the tragedy of September 11,

2001. As with past incidents, the trend is to shift from

air travel to auto travel and to take trips closer to home.

After September 11, the share of auto person - trips
increased 2 percent in just one year, and auto travelers

stayed close to home. Future incidents will likely

produce the same results.
The interstate highway system significantly encouraged

vacation travel and especially encouraged long -

distance travel. It made automobile travel much faster

and more comfortable. A major concern of tourism
groups today is the maintenance of the highway

network. There is growing evidence that the highway

system is in need of substantial repair to prevent it from
suffering further deterioration. A poor road system

costs the individual driver, the bus operator, and other

users additional funds in terms of increased fuel use
and vehicle maintenance, and the knowledge that a

highway is in poor condition may cause travelers to

select another destination to avoid the problem.

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