Travel industry responding to economy

(WPRI) - With travelers beginning to spend more on their vacations or business trips, the industry has responded with improvements to capitalize on their investments.

Some hot travel trends for 2013 include RV rentals and theme cruises. These pricey investments might have deterred consumers last year, but experts say an improving economy is encouraging for travelers to invest more in their trips.

In response, the industry is pumping more money into their product. For example, RV rentals now include HDTVs and Wi-Fi capabilities.

Cruises have also received a face-lift, offering yoga-themed adventures, or even golf excursions. According to Kathryn O'Shea-Evans, from Travel + Leisure, "golfers can get on board and then go to different islands and enjoy teeing off in different locations."

In the hospitality industry, "pop-up hotels" are becoming more influential. "hotel brands have been seeing certain locations are only good certain times of the year, so they're putting dollars behind these month-long hotel operations," O'Shea said.

However, as the industry continues to improve, some former advancements are now lost in the shuffle. Travelers are no longer looking at anonymous online reviews as a reliable insight.