Consumers should do their research before giving in to Travel Tuesday temptation

By CORA LEWIS Associated Press NEW YORK AP Chain stores have Black Friday Online marketplaces have Cyber Monday For local businesses it s Small Business Saturday Related Articles US air travelers without REAL IDs will be charged a fee Visiting LA Why downtown is the best place to stay The best things to do see and eat at Disneyland during the holiday season Spirit Frontier offer steep air journey discounts in Black Friday dogfight Paris Louvre museum to increase ticket price for visitors from outside the EU In the last years more segments of the retail industry have vied for their own piece of the holiday shopping season The expedition commerce has firmly joined the trend with another post-Thanksgiving sales push Journey Tuesday On the same day as the nonprofit world s Giving Tuesday airlines hotels cruise ship companies trip booking platforms and tour operators get in on the annual spirit to spend by promoting one-day deals Consumer advocates say there are legitimate savings to be had but also chances to be misled by marketing that conveys a false sense of urgency People see percent off and assume it s a once-in-a-lifetime steal without recognizing that the underlying price may have been inflated or that the same itinerary was cheaper last month Sally French a journey expert at personal finance site NerdWallet revealed She and other seasoned travelers advised consumers who want to see if they can save money by booking trips on Passage Tuesday to do research in advance and to pay especially close attention to the fine print attached to offers People hoping to figure last-minute deals for Christmas or New Year s should double-check for blackout dates or other restrictions recommended Lindsay Schwimer a consumer expert for the online excursion site Hopper It s also wise to to keep an eye out for nonrefundable fares resort fees double occupancy requirements or upgrade conditions that may be hidden within advertised discounts according to French Shoppers should be wary of expedition packages with extra transportation options or add-on offers French mentioned Instead of lowering fares or room rates chosen companies use announcement credits extra points included amenities and bundled extras as a way to tempt anticipated customers she mentioned A large number of trip brands want to keep sticker prices high to maintain an aura of luxury but they still need to fill planes ships and hotel rooms French mentioned Add-on perks are their workaround Consumers who are prepared rather than impulsive and on the lookout for the up-sell are in a much better position to identify authentic bargains consumer experts stressed Knowing what a specific trip would typically cost and comparison shopping can help expose offers based on inflated underlying costs and whether the same itinerary might have been cheaper at other times they commented Compare prices check your calendar and make sure the trip you re booking is something you genuinely want not something you bought because a countdown timer pressured you French revealed What gets glossed over is that the best deal might be not booking anything at all if it doesn t align with your plans Journey Tuesday came about based on existing industry trends In Hopper analyzed historical pricing information and uncovered that in each of the nine previous years the biggest day for post-Thanksgiving passage discounts was the day after Cyber Monday The site named the day Movement Tuesday The number of offers within that time-targeted window and the number of travelers looking for them has since expanded Nearly three times as countless trips were planned on Advance Tuesday last year compared to Black Friday Hopper s Schwimer stated We continue to see development in the day year over year as more journey brands and categories offer deals The event s origin story is in line with the National Retail Federation coining Cyber Monday in as a response to the emerging e-commerce era American Express came up with Small Business Saturday in to direct buyers and their dollars to smaller retailers credit card fees and all A account by the consulting firm McKinsey Company last year noted that November and December tend to be slow months for tour bookings making Passage Tuesday a marketing moment that could help boost revenue Hotel cruise and and airline bookings by U S travelers increased significantly on Excursion Tuesday compared with the two weeks before and after the day the summary s authors wrote citing details provided by the excursion marketing platform Sojern While Expedition Tuesday so far has been mostly confined to the United States and Canada European journey companies can anticipate the possibility that Journey Tuesday will become a growing phenomenon in their region given that other shopping days such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday have spread beyond North America the review stated Vivek Pandya lead insights analyst for Adobe Analytics which tracks online spending noted consumers have more tools than ever this holiday season to help them determine if deals hold up to scrutiny Social journeys influencers providing promo codes and values and generative AI platforms taking all that in the prices the social conversation the reviews and giving guidance to the consumer that s a very different dynamic kind of journey consumers are taking than they have in previous seasons Pandya mentioned Both he and French emphasized that prices rise and fall based on multiple factors and that the winter holidays are not the only major promotional period of the year We now have dozens of consumer spending holidays French declared Amazon alone keeps adding new versions of Prime Day So if you don t buy on Passage Tuesday you haven t missed your moment The Associated Press receives sponsorship from the Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co Inc The AP is solely responsible for its journalism