Government Shutdown: Time To Travel?

But they also account for a third of the U.S. travel market -- some $95 billion in 2011, according to a recent study by PhoCusWright, a travel market research company. So what happened?

Set in the heart of the Indian Ocean, the 105 resort islands that make up part of the Maldives squeezed past Italy and France as the preferred destination for 800 luxury holidaymakers in the survey carried out by Small Luxury Hotels of the World, a London-based outfit whose portfolio includes 520 hotels in 70 countries. Interestingly, the results of the poll also reveal geographical divides: while the Maldives emerged as the preferred luxury destination overall, where it failed to feature as top-of-mind was in the US and Canada where respondents favored European destinations with France topping their list. Furthermore, while globally nearly half or 42 percent of respondents said they would take a luxury holiday over a luxury car, jewelry or clothing, Canadians were the exception to the trend: 58 percent of respondents said they would opt for the car. Canucks also bucked the trend when it came to identifying the most important elements of a luxury holiday. While globally, five-star facilities emerged as top priorities -- particularly for the British -- Canadians and respondents from Latin America said they value authentic experiences over luxury amenities.

1-7 holiday known as Golden Week, when hundreds of millions of Chinese travel. The holiday is characterized anyway by long lines of traffic and delayed journeys, complicated further Sunday by the partial closure, according to state media, of six inter-provincial expressways, including one linking Beijing and Shanghai. Nearly 30 highways were also restricted around the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area. Beijing Capital International Airport said four international flights were canceled Sunday morning, including to Mongolia and Russia, while three others were delayed. Two domestic flights were canceled and 20 delayed.

airports, a few looming disruptions do exist: passport agencies are moving in slow motion, federal safety inspector furloughs could contribute to potential cracks in airline safety, national park visits may have to be put off for another season, and some government checks that may have been allocated to ones travel or vacation budget may be slow to arrive. What happens as the days turn into weeks is another matter. If the shutdown circus leads to an impasse on the debt ceiling toward a subsequent federal default, there is word from the Federal Reserve that another Recession could follow.