Given the sticky economic climate (not to mention that swine flu), I couldn’t help but wonder what extremes companies in the travel industry are taking to incentivize consumers to break into their piggy banks this summer season.

According to OAG FACTS, April 2009 marks the ninth successive month of declines in flight schedules, specifically reflecting a drop of more than 136,000 flights and 9 million seats. Ouch!

What are companies doing to stay afloat in these turbulent conditions? Here’s a snapshot of current promotional and marketing efforts:

USA TODAY and DiscoverAmerica.com recently collaborated on the “Picture America Contest” campaign where visitors to pictureamerica.usatoday.com were encouraged to submit photos that capture the essence of America and best represent the country to international travelers; deadline entry was May 8th. Professional photographers will select the top 10 and USA TODAY readers will vote for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. The 3 winners will receive trips to American cities through Travelocity, along with a $500 American Express voucher credit toward airfare.  Discover America will also use the images from the 10 finalists as part of their marketing campaign geared at promoting U.S. travel to international tourists. What a great way to incorporate interactivity and validate consumer generated content. Read the rest of this entry »