Christmas Travel by Hispanics Down

Mexicans and other Latino immigrants were wont to celebrate Christmas or Easter "back home". The kids are off from school and the used SUV could easily make the trip south. But the Washington Post reports that, for D.C. area and for the nation as a whole this, this is a bleak holiday southward travel. More Latinos in Washington are from Central and South America or the Caribbean and so fly back home. Travel agents reports holiday sales down significantly. They also report a new phenomenon -- purchasing one-way tickets. It's not so much the travelers don't intend to come back, rather they're telling the travel agents of their intention to sit out the U.S. recession back home. There are also reports that remittances and gift packages are down significantly.