Here’s a spot-on two-word explanation for the resurgence in travel that tour operators, travel agents and industry observers say has been apparent since late last year:

Cabin fever.

“People are tired of moping around,” says Rita Zawaideh, owner of Seattle-based Caravan Serai, a tour operator specializing in trips to North Africa and the Middle East. “After the first anniversary of 9-11 passed, people began slowly coming out of their shells. They realized that life goes on.”

Many of them, she adds, also realized that they’d exhausted most of the possibilities – or at least the ones they were curious about – of travel around the U.S. Caravan Serai has booked five trips to the Middle East this year through April, “far better than we did in the two years after 9-11.”

Tour operators report that much of the surge in business is from bookings coming in on sometimes incredibly short-term notice. “The amazing thing is how short the time is between booking and sailing,” says Dennis Dori, owner of Charter Sailing Unlimited in Geneva, IL. “It’s not unusual to have somebody book on a Monday for a charter beginning the following Sunday.  Normally people book about three months out.”

Dori is happy to roll with the trend. As of April, he’d already booked 19 charters in a business that averages 25 charters per year. “Although the average cost of each charter is down – people are chartering less expensive boats and shorter durations – I’m still expecting my best year.”

Luis Vasquez, owner of Mila Tours in Gurnee, IL, which specializes in travel to Central and South America, has also observed a plummet in the time between when people book and when they leave on a trip. “Over the last few months I’ve noted people booking much more closely to their trips, say, one or two months out vs. the usual 10 or 11 months.”

Many of Zawaideh’s Middle East trips are booked at the last minute. “We let people book as late as three days before departure. We can do this because we have offices overseas that can handle visas and other last-minute details.”

Does the current explosion in short-term and last-minute demand have real legs? Vasquez, who’s already booked some Christmas and New Year’s trips, isn’t too sure. “Overall, I’d say the trend is heading back toward longer-range plans.”

More than just cabin fever

While Dori agrees with Zawaideh that “cabin fever” is one reason why travelers seem to be popping out of the woodwork, he thinks another is low air fares – at least in his bailiwick, the Caribbean. “American Airlines is a major carrier to the Caribbean. It seriously dropped fares a few months ago and that probably spurred interest in charters. Also people just feel safer there.”

That issue of safety is still recurring and important, despite the passage of time since 9-11 and prosecution of the war on terror. For Zawaideh, whose trips take small groups to countries near great turmoil, “I have to do some hand-holding because there are concerns about safety. But, since we visit friends and family of mine on our trips, people get a personal, hands-on approach to Middle eastern culture that has them come home saying, “My God, I can’t believe how friendly people are.”

(What Middle Eastern destinations are most popular currently? Zawaideh says that because of the American Museum of Natural History's traveling exhibit, "Petra, Lost City of Stone,” Jordan is getting a lot of traffic. “Also, Tunisia has come up as a destination, as well as Syria.” In Syria’s case, she says, worries that it might be involved in a war with the U.S. or Israel has spurred people to visit it before its cultural treasures could be rendered inaccessible.) 

(Zawaideh says another sign of an industry bounce-back is seeing Arab-Americans traveling more. “Many of them had been discouraged by fears about being stigmatized or put on a no-fly list. But those fears have lessened.” While Arab-Americans might still encounter some hostility or suspicion, she says, it’s not enough to stop them from traveling.) 

Vasquez agrees that safety looms as a major issue in many travelers’ minds. “It’s an unfortunate concern, but people perceive Latin America as being safer than, say, Europe.” But he also cites other reasons why travel to Latin America is way up – to the point that he is now having problems booking reservations in places like Peru. 

The reason is simple: the globalization of name-brand hotels and Internet technology. “Many Latin American destinations that previously weren’t that attractive to conventions and seminars have become increasingly so with the construction of four and five-star hotels and Internet access. Cities like Santiago, Lima and Rio are now prime convention spots because attendees can come with their laptops and stay in touch with home or run their Power Point presentations.” 

When you add affluent travelers to the mix of conventioneers, Vasquez says it can make for a bittersweet experience among operators booking Latin American trips: While they enjoy watching demand in their niche boom, they’re also constantly scrambling to find rooms for their clients. “Because upscale travelers don’t wait for a vacation as an excuse to travel, they’ll travel frequently, and that’s another factor that explains the sometime scarcity of accommodations in major cities.”