Celebrating 80 Years: Recession in 1990

Retailers Seen Weathering Economic Uncertainty As Analysts Say Talk of Recession to Affect TradeFear of a recession can be as damaging to the travel industry as the reality of a recession. In August 1990, with the Gulf War underway, air fares from the Middle East had started going up, fear of terrorism was spreading, and not surprisingly, talk of recession had begun distinguishing travel agents recognizing the extent of the affect.

If this doesn't sound like history, it's because the trend has been dominant among our own current state of affairs and shows no sign of letting up. Since recession was declared in the summer of 2007, the shift in the global climate has inspired the travel industry to become more specialized as it caters to more specific markets and customer demands, and, for better or worse, we have had more time to address shifting trends. (Read the full article's page 1 here and page 2 of it here.)

As we celebrate our 80th anniversary, we're taking a look at what was happening in the industry in the past and asking agents to share their thoughts on what has changed in the industry up until the present. So please share your thoughts by posting a comment below, writing us at our Facebook page, sending a tweet to our Twitter page or by engaging in a discussion in real time at AgentNation (the only social community online for all kinds of travel agents, which certainly wasn't around 80 years ago). We want to hear from you.

And while you're here, learn more about how we're celebrating eight decades of covering the travel industry for travel professionals.