Cruises to Alaska and Mexico and vacations to Hawaii and Canada seem to be more popular than ever among Willow Glen residents.

While Alaska is always a popular destination, Bill Knight, president of All Cruise Travel on Lincoln Avenue estimates that his Alaskan cruise sales are up as much as 200 percent this year. In stark contrast, his European business is down 60 percent, and bookings to Asia even lower, down 75 percent from a healthy year.

"Cruises to Asia and Europe are very difficult to sell, if you can sell them at all," Knight says. "Europe and big-ticket cruises are difficult. People are looking for more value, which means less expensive, shorter cruises."

Especially strong are the cruises leaving from San Francisco, because as Knight says, there's no air travel involved, suggesting that there still appears to be a lingering anxiety around flying.

Tyler Peak, owner of Peak Travel Group on Lincoln Avenue, has witnessed the same trend. His Hawaii business is even higher than it was two years ago, when the high-tech industry in Silicon Valley was still going strong.

"We're just zooming in on Hawaii," Peak says. "Alaska cruises are also popular. Cruise ships are seen to be a little safer."

He also admits that cruises provide the most value, as the fare includes meals, rooms and entertainment. All-inclusive vacation packages at resorts like Club Med are also considered good values, he adds.

"People want to be in one spot, comfortable, easy," Peak says.

While Peak Travel Group's business suffered most last March, resulting in a staff reduction, Peak has joined forces with three other travel agencies over the last two years, through both acquisitions and mergers, as a means for growing and stabilizing his company. This restructuring has also changed his clientele. He used to rely heavily on corporate travel—now he depends more on regular customers and local residents.

"I always try to make lemonade out of lemons," he says. "Everything's looking pretty good for us this year. People are still traveling, but they are choosing destinations that are cheaper and closer to home."

Despite this he has not seen a noticeable decline in European business. "We didn't really experience a falling out," he says, "but I have had several people cancel their trips to France because they didn't like the way France handled the war. They're doing a little economic boycott on their own."

Peak also hasn't been impacted much from the SARS outbreak, except in his corporate business, as companies he works with have advised employees not to travel to high-risk areas such as China and Hong Kong.

Marilyn Bell Zelaya of Willow Glen Travel on Lincoln Avenue has also felt an impact from the depressed economy, though she maintains that business has been fairly steady overall.

"Since we're such an old business, much of our business is repeat and referral. We've been fairly even," she says.

Even so, both Zelaya and Knight do feel that business was more vibrant prior to Sept. 11. "Two years ago, before Sept. 11, business was extremely strong," Knight says. "Last year and this year have been difficult, but business is picking back up, and we're anticipating a strong May and June."

Zelaya cites economic conditions as the reason that cruises, motor coach tours and local tourist spots such as Lake Tahoe, Hearst Castle and Disneyland were more popular this year during the spring break season than more exotic locales like Hawaii and Mexico.

"We've really noticed that the family has been affected this spring, especially families with kids under 18," Zelaya says. "They've told us quite frankly that they can't afford to travel in the spring, and so they're waiting for summer and it will be less extravagant."

Another trend Zelaya mentions is that there is an increase in multigenerational family vacations. Cruises to Alaska and British Columbia, as well as trips to Hawaii, include parents, children and grandparents, which is atypical from years past.

Willow Glen Travel, a family-run travel agency, recently completed a tour to Morocco and Paris. It began two days before the United States began bombing strikes in Iraq. And the owners say while Central and South American business is down overall, their upcoming cruise to the Panama Canal is sold out. They also have a regular customer who continues to fly in and out of Toronto on business.

In contrast, Zelaya notes that travel to Ireland is "really down," probably as a result of the economy. And trips to Africa, Egypt, Turkey and Greece that the travel agency typically books weren't happening this year.

"If you have a certain amount of money, you're going to go where you can have fun and not be nervous," Zelaya says. "We understand how important tourism is to so many countries and economies, including the United States."

In the meantime, Zelaya supports the trend for domestic travel this year.

"I would say, compared to other years, we're doing more North American business than before, and that's great because there's so much to see in this country and in Canada." She adds that domestic travel pours money back into the domestic economy.