By Claudia Hirsch

NEW YORK, April 23 (MNI) - Leisure travel spending is bouncing back in 2010 as U.S. consumer sentiment gradually repairs, but prices are beginning to firm again from recession lows, according to travel agents.

Travel specialists said momentum started building in the fourth quarter, and first-quarter travel bookings are well outpacing those of 2009. Per-trip spending is rising, especially on airfare, though lodging perks like free nights and meals are sticking around for now. Recession-era trends like shorter stays are still in place, but travelers are booking further in advance than they were last year.

The unprecedented six-day flight ban across much of Europe in the third week of April, prompted by the ash fallout from an erupting Icelandic volcano, impacted travel to and from the UK as well as the continent and complicated global air transport. The unwinding process has begun but could continue into May, travel agents said.

Michelle Morgan, president of Signature Travel Network, a Los Angeles-based cooperative of 190 travel agencies with 330 U.S. retail locations, said travel spending has increased alongside bookings.

"Consumer confidence is vitally important, and the strength of the stock market has translated into confidence to spend today and commit to travel in 2011," Morgan said. Broad-based recovery may wait till next year or 2012, but "business has been consistently strong over the past several months," she added.

She said sales for third- and fourth-quarter 2010 travel are healthy and up over 2009.

"Business on the books for next year is showing dramatic improvement over last year's sales performance for the same period," Morgan said. Meantime, cruise companies and hotels have raised rates.

River cruising has grown in popularity, as have travel destinations like Egypt, India and Morocco, Morgan said.

John Samuel, chief information officer for Bloomfield, NJ-based Club ABC Travel, which specializes in international value tours, said an upturn begun in 2009 continues, though a full recovery hasn't materialized yet.

"We are not back 100%, but the trend is definitely very encouraging," Samuel said. He described March bookings as "stellar" and his outlook for April and May as very optimistic. But January and February business, though good, fell a little short of expectations. Even so, bookings this year now stand at 2008 levels, constituting a vast improvement over 2009.

"People who have a job now expect to keep that job," he said. "Consumer confidence is in a different place."

Club ABC has held its prices about steady vs. last year, though suppliers have raised theirs, Samuel said. A strengthening U.S. dollar vs. the European currency has helped the company absorb these cost increases, and it's also prompted better bookings to the continent, he said.

The ash-related flight ban wound up stranding only about a dozen clients already in Europe.

"We extended their trips at values we couldn't have gotten for anybody," Samuel said. The 100 or so clients expecting to fly to Europe beginning last week have been able to postpone departures. But the natural disaster points up the continued fragility of the global travel industry, he said.

He also said Egypt and Turkey have been especially popular destinations since the fourth quarter. Suppliers there have been particularly diligent in building value and have been able to capture some market share while consumers are still hungry for bargains. European suppliers, with the exception of those in Italy, haven't been quite as energetic on that front, Samuel said.

A travel agent in Ohio said his commerce has climbed ever since the fourth quarter.

"A lot of that uptick was parallel with the stock market," said Robert Elking, owner of Grandview Travel, in Columbus. "The gates have opened on the pent-up demand.

"We've got some bucket-list clientele again," he said of travelers who are planning trips-of-a-lifetime.

Elking said his year-to-date business has galloped some 20% ahead of 2009, and his fourth-quarter figures leaped 50%.

Meanwhile, he's experienced 10% to 15% increases in base airfares this year, as capacity remains at reduced levels. Accommodation is also about 10% or 15% costlier this year. But while prices overall are higher, perks remain. Some luxury brands, for instance, continue to offer one free night in four and complementary breakfast, Elking said.

Still stung by staffing cuts and increased work responsibilities, however, many customers continue to opt for shorter stays. Instead of a 10-day journey, many now venture for a week. Seven-day trips have been trimmed to five, he said.

Elking has lost commission revenue from the European flight ban, which prompted cancellations among some customers scheduled to fly over.

A travel professional in California said she's seen a good amount of brand-new business since the start of the year.

"My desk is stacked," said Gaile Baratto, owner of Baratto International Travel, in Santa Barbara. "I'm pleased with what's been walking through my door."

She said many of the new clients have been frustrated by online travel planning and booking experiences. A good chunk of her customers book journeys with price tags of $20,000 or more, but still enjoy the array of incentives that suppliers continue to offer.

"Last year, people were afraid and were keeping hold of their purse strings," Baratto said. "Now they're coming back in like nothing happened."

Luxury travel has also righted itself, but here too clients want to know they're getting the best possible deal.

"We're encountering things that we never have before, like demands for a couple of thousand dollars off a quote, or else," said Leslie Overton, general manager of Absolute Travel, in New York City, which specializes in privately guided, high-end travel to Asia, Africa, South America and the South Pacific. "People are spending money. It's just that we have to jump through hoops for them."

Overton said clients now feel more comfortable about their investments, so travel plans and spending have expanded some this year. Cancellations have vanished and clients are now booking a little further in advance, as well. Last year saw a dip in revenues for Absolute Travel, its first in the 16 years that Overton has worked there.

Middle Eastern and African destinations are growing in popularity, she said. But right now, she's working on repatriating various clients around the world. The European flight ban's global ripple effects on equipment and schedules may not be fully sorted through till May, she said.

Statistical evidence suggests that travel prices are on the rise this year. The U.S. Travel Association's latest domestic-travel data reveal that March prices rose 1.9% from February and 4.8% from March 2009. Fuel raced more than 41% higher in March vs. 2009, and airfares rose 7.5%, according to the TIA. Across the first-quarter, total travel prices gained 4.0% on the same period of 2009.

The Conference Board is scheduled to release its April consumer confidence index at 10 a.m. EST Tuesday.

Editor's Note: Reality Check stories survey sentiment among business people and their trade associations. They are intended to complement and anticipate economic data and to provide a view into specific sectors of the U.S. economy

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