And yet, it is that very reason that makes travelling attractive during recession: everybody else wants to earn they will give their best to a tourist. You will receive better service, discounted fares, reduced accommodation costs, and less competition for attention along the way.

Discounted fares

The cost of oil has dropped from $150 to about $70 a barrel. This means airplane flight costs would have gone down by a significant percentage, which should translate to lower airfares. Since in a recession few people will travel due to lack of means --money is tight- the airlines will offer promos and more discounts in their effort to lure the small numbers of tourists their way. What works for airlines will be repeated by other transportation companies including cruise ships and tour buses. This will be very advantageous to the recession tourist.

Better service

The smaller number of tourists will urge service providers and employees of hotels, casinos, and similar establishments to perform better service. In a recession, many people will be out of jobs so there will be fierce competition for existing ones as well as vacancies. Therefore any employee who performs lower than the desirable levels would be in greater danger of being fired. Who would want to be out of a job when there are no alternative employments?

Likewise, the reduced number of clients will enable the staff, for example, to more easily familiarize with their clients, and the staff's smaller workload will give them longer time to attend to their clients' needs. Fewer visitors, reduced work: special treatment, better service.

Lower room rates

In the same manner as that of the airlines, accommodation providers that depend on tourism will compete with each other more fiercely for the smaller number of potential clients. Common methods of attracting visitors are reducing room rates, offering lower prices for groups and package tours. In whatever way it is done, the visitor will enjoy the benefits of less expense than normal.

Less competition for attention

Let us put it this way. If a provider's -tourist guide, hotel staff, resort attendant, restaurant waiter- attention is 100 units and you are in a group of 50, you get only two units of the attention as your share. If your group is only five, you get 20 units, which is of course markedly better. And this is applicable in all aspects of the travel in terms of service, from the flight stewardess to the tuk-tuk driver, the bartender to the masseuse, the bellhop to the hotel manager. This will be the resulting boon for a recession traveler, to be treated with extra-special care.

Why travel during a recession? One reason: you can expect to be treated royally but less expensively. Therefore more enjoyable, right?