A wish list to make the going easier

WHAT direction will leisure travel take this year? I’m not clairvoyant, but I can tell you some things I hope to see in the next 11 months.

* The U.S. should create a federal agency to promote international travel to its shores. It’s long overdue and should be included in any legislative plans for the year. The U.S. is the world’s only prosperous nation that lacks an agency capable of providing the funds necessary to encourage incoming tourism, and it loses billions in potential revenue as a result. Jamaica spends more money promoting incoming travel than does the U.S.

* It’s been more than four years since Sept. 11 -- time enough for the government to develop a system that will end the lines and bottlenecks at airport security gates. A new ID system, being tested at some U.S. airports, might be the answer for frequent travelers.

* Legislation that would guarantee longer vacations for all employed Americans probably won’t be enacted this year, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t have a major spot on my wish list. Americans should campaign for this major quality-of-life improvement. Many other prosperous nations allow vacations of five, six and even seven weeks a year. The wage and hour provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (the 40-hour week, the minimum wage, the abolition of child labor, etc.) need expansion to provide a minimum of three weeks’ vacation time per year to all people engaged in interstate commerce. That paltry increase would expand the opportunity for leisure and travel.

* The restoration of low-cost standby airfares is a more easily achievable objective. Too many planes fly with empty seats because some airlines refuse to allow travelers to stand by and thus enjoy a lower fare. I have never understood why these carriers can’t formulate safeguards that would prevent such a system from being abused or becoming a security risk. Some foreign airlines have instituted low-cost standby fares for students and seniors, and there’s no reason the same policy shouldn’t be available for all travelers.

* Near the top of my wish list, as regular readers know, is the survival of Amtrak. Americans favor subsidizing passenger rail. Congress should react to that sentiment by adopting a plan for Amtrak’s improvement and expansion.

* This year, I hope someone invents a term for those bed-and-breakfast arrangements that consist of a spare room in someone’s home, rented on a casual and sporadic basis by people who are not making their living from such rentals but simply supplementing their incomes. This original concept of bed-and-breakfast lodging has become the primary means by which Americans are able to travel affordably in Europe or within super-costly U.S. cities. And yet, bed-and-breakfast also applies to those exquisite inns with canopied beds and elaborate breakfasts that often charge more than hotels. Someone should invent more precise terms for these places.