2004 a mixed year for local travel agencies

The past year was an improvement over 2003 for travel agencies in Westchester County; but many saw little growth and some didn't grow at all. For still others, it was a super year.

Asked about the future, county travel agents had a similar range of expectations, from pessimistic to, optimistic.

Charles

"The people I've been talking to have been showing a substantial increase over last year; and it's building," DiGiacomo said. "If the bookings for the first quarter of Olds year are any indication, it looks like it's going to be a banner year for cruises in the Caribbean, bookings to Mexico and Alaska cruises."

The improving economy has made people feel more secure about their jobs and more willing to spend on travel - and people feel more secure about travel, he said.

Maureen Abrahamsen, owner of Four Seasons Travel Inc. in Mamaroneck, agreed. The economy and fears of terrorism have each become less of a negative influence for travelers, she said. Her sales are up "at least 15 percent," she said.

"They definitely feel more secure - even long lines at the airport don't faze them," she said. "The consensus here (in her agency) is they're sick and tired of sitting at home!"

Among those reporting little or no growth in the past year was Nicholas Benyo of Benyo Worldwide Travel Inc. in Yonkers.

"It slightly declined," he said of his revenues for 2004. The economy needs to pick up more, he said. But he added, "We anticipate a better year, based on some of the requests already coming in."

Mal Beiner, owner of Mount Kisco Travel N Tours, described the trend in last year's revenues as "totally flat. ... It's been a very quiet year." Lingering worries about terrorism are part of the reason, he, said.

Alesia Kozicky, owner of Dunwoodie Travel Bureau in Yonkers, moved her agency from a storefront into an office building last January and was worried about possible declines from the loss of walk-in business.

But she said business "was probably the same or just a little better" than the year before.

A good part of the reason was a pickup in travel to Ukraine. Kozicky, a Ukrainian-American fluent in the language of her parents' native land, gets a lot of her business from customers with the same ethnic background.

Summer travel to Ukraine would have been bigger this past year if there had been enough flights to that country, she said, and she expects it to grow this year with a new government more open to Western tourism and trade. She also arranged travel for 200 to 220 visitors to the country who helped out with elections there in the week before Christmas.