According to the AAA, 4.54 million people are expected to fly during the long holiday weekend, which is down 7.2 percent less than the 4.89 million who did the same last year.

The economy is largely attributed to this slowdown, with relatively higher airfares along with fees and surcharges.

While there is a lot of focus on the media, I think another deterrent is simply that it is unpleasant to travel by air with frustrated passengers lending an air of hostility to jam-packed, food-less, possibly-delayed flights.

I shouldn’t sound negative. Because I am, after all, prepared to travel for turkey.

Whether you’re hitting the road, rails, air or simply walking into your dining room, have a very happy Thanksgiving.

Don't let's let the news that is clearly trying for attention rather than realism sway us to alarmist reactions. For example, according to Hitwise traffic data- the share of traffic to retail sites is about where it was last year - so you could interpret that as no growth. But, reality says that other categories like News and Media and Financial have increased their share -due to the election and the economy mostly - that would affect the share of other categories -remember these are share numbers not total numbers. So, looking beyond the headline to what is real will help us not panic and to stay focused on getting the job we know how to do done.

We found that 33% of people who took a leisure trip in the summer say they will be more price sensitive than usual in their travel plans. Considering this is already an intensely price sensitive group with the average person researching 3 websites per product, More Price Sensitive is an important shift. In addition, 28% say they will research their travel even more intensely than they have before.

There are two trends whose implications I’ve been thinking about.

Last year, we’d seen an increase in branded search terms. I suspect going forward, words like “cheap”, “discount” and “deal” will creep back into top searches.

I also think we’re going to see travelers start researching earlier. That doesn’t mean they will purchase earlier. But they will be scanning, researching more intensely, and aware to pricing options to their desired destinations.

The combination of these two behavioral shifts could have a profound affect on all areas of online travel marketing. Search marketers will need to analyze their SEM robustly to determine if, in fact, they are affected by an increase in generic search terms. Promotions may need to start earlier and last longer. Website features will need to support longer planning windows.

The list will go on. “new economic reality” + “travel marketing”. Search.

It also might hit home to wary older customers. In fact, according to our recent consumer survey, where we asked: Given the current state of the US economy, how are you planning to change your holiday shopping habits? Customers over 45 years old are more likely to say they will spend less overall and avoid any major purchases. So retailers whose customer base skews older, might try the same tactic Saks has launched.

During Q3, it became abundantly clear that the economic slowdown was driving a serious contraction in demand.

At that time, there was an opportunity to come forward with a fresh and responsive marketing message to acknowledge the new financial reality.

Look to retail. Target has a stylish and amusing television campaign based on their “Brand new day” theme that shows how their products can help people save money as a substitute for activities they are likely to give up due to cost (i.e. a coffee maker instead of going to a coffee shop, an exercise ball to replace gym fees). Walmart has a more direct savings-focused television ad demonstrating that replacing cereal for take-out breakfast can save $900 per year.

Economy-relevant advertising in not restricted to retailers. For example, Velveeta cheese has addressed its customers’ new economic reality with a television ad showing a woman sawing groceries in half to save money but keeping a full block of Velveeta in her cart, along with a web promotion based on Velveeta helping consumers stretch their dinner budgets.

Over the last few months, online travel agencies have taken a different tack. Most didn’t change their destination marketing strategies to focus on more affordable locations, offer shorter vacation packages or alternative accommodation. Fare alerts remained largely buried. Social media wasn’t leveraged. Instead, there were co-promotions: the last installment of the Raiders of the Lost Ark series and The Amazing Race occupied key homepage real estate for Expedia and Travelocity. More recently, Orbitz has partnered with the latest James Bond movie, focusing on Vienna, Tuscany and Brazil. Not that these aren’t creative joint promotions. They would have been great brand awareness campaigns in 2007. But this is 2008 and the world is very different.

Vouchers for future travel when savings are required now or discounts on luxury hotels are ignoring the elephant in the room. Suppliers or other marketers offering joint promotion in exchange for travel agency homepage exposure can be a major distraction from what travelers what to hear:

I understand that you want to travel and that you need to save money. I will help you.

There are a host of technical considerations behind the scenes for bar-code boarding passes, including the global encryption standards that were adopted last year by IATA – the International Air Transport Association. IATA expects all airlines to be bar-code-boarding-pass capable by the end of the year and the TSA has stated it sees tremendous potential for paperless boarding passes.

In a survey we conducted at JupiterResearch earlier this year, we found that 18% of online travelers are interested in being able to check in for a flight using their mobile device. This number increases to 27 percent among business travelers.

Certainly the airlines see value in establishing their brand as innovative as well as realizing some airport traffic flow benefit. But that won’t be what drives traveler adoption. Travelers will adopt technology where they see its value. And while there is some value in not having to obtain or produce a piece of paper, that alone is not a compelling force to try something new. The value of so-called paperless boarding will be speed and convenience, which will require confidence in the technology, the ability to make fees payments via mobile or phone, and seamless support from airline staff. At least, that is what customer-centric value is. But that’s not something we hear a lot from the beleaguered airlines these days.

15 percent less online retailers cite increasing their search engine marketing spending for the holiday season among the top three sales-driving tactics. According to the 2008 JupiterResearch Retail Executive Survey, 40 percent of online retailers will increase search marketing spending as a holiday sales-driving tactic this year. Though a high overall total percentage, this is still 15 points less retailers than the previous year. Online retailers already spend 40 percent of their budgets on search, thus the slowing of this spending increase signals a wider focus on other tactics.

A growing number of retailers increase spending on holiday sales-driving tactics like promotions and online advertising. 27 percent of online retailers will increase spending on affiliate marketing (a 14 percent increase over the previous year) whereas 18 percent will increase spending on banner advertising. Amplified concentration on other sales driving tactics, in addition to search, reflects a slight shift of online retailers’ attention towards higher website exposure and more competitive pricing. This strategy should pay off as, according to the 2008 JupiterResearch Group Consumer Survey, 31 percent of online users will do more research online before purchasing products this holiday season, in order to make sure they get the best price.

By Patti Freeman Evans & Cristina Bugnaru

Yes, they and eBay have tempered guidance for Q4 and the year, but realistically who hasn't.

Air Canada’s so-called unbundled approach is tiered to allow travelers to select different airfare structures. Tango is the no-frills, with only a portion of frequent flyer miles offered, higher change fees and a fee for advance seat selection. Tango Plus gives 100% status miles, complimentary seat selection, and lower change fees. Latitude and Executive Class follow this pattern with more flexibility and higher prices.

Once an Air Canada traveler selects the fare, they have the option to pay for additional features or, as Air Canada’s cleverly markets, to “customize your flight”. This includes baggage check in, prepaid food vouchers, and seat selection.

When Air Canada launched this pricing structure five years ago, they were rebuilding their brand after entering bankruptcy and having some serious service issues that opened the door for their competitor WestJet to gain share.

And, while Air Canada passengers certainly recognized that previously free items were now charged essentially the unbundled structure was transparent and gave travelers choices. Air Canada met the challenge with what I believe is a best practice website in terms of conveying information to help travelers choose.

If, in fact, American Airlines is planning to un-bundle fares, I expect it won’t be long before we see this across US carriers (assuming Air Canada’s GDS issues with their pricing structure won’t be duplicated).

Unbundling in the US would happen in more challenging marketing environment; driven by cynicism and frustration after months of fare and fee increases, it will be a tougher – though imperative – marketing message to communicate this is about traveler choice.