Travelers must monitor for price drops and remain flexible in travel dates to save money; top leisure destination hotels down 20 percent, mitigating skyrocketing airfares for late summer travel.

SEATTLE, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Fareologists at Live Search Farecast (http://farecast.live.com) today issued an early forecast for the 2008 holiday travel season, uncovering a grim outlook for consumers hoping to travel on peak dates. Fares for Thanksgiving 2008 are up 35 percent from 2007, while Christmas and New Year's fares are up 31 percent.

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'This holiday season may well be the perfect storm for airfare that sends travelers running for cover,' said Fareologist Joel Grus. 'The combination of high fuel prices, airline capacity and route cuts means holiday travelers may easily spend upwards of $100 more per ticket than last year. There are deals out there for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, but they're few and far between, and won't last long.'

Nationally, the average ticket cost for the most popular Thanksgiving itinerary -- Wednesday departure, Sunday return -- is $490, up $66 from last year. Travelers who have flexibility will be rewarded with big savings; returning on Monday or Tuesday can save more than $90 per ticket. The landscape for Christmas and New Year's fares is similar, with fares averaging $420.

'Don't forget,' Grus added, 'Many airlines are adding additional fees, such as baggage, on top of these fares, which can push the cost of travel higher.'

Grus offers the following tips for holiday travelers:

-- Watch October for holiday price drops. During 2006 and 2007, most Christmas itineraries saw price drops in the first two weeks of October. Farecast data suggests there are 50 percent more price drops during the holidays than other times of the year, so alerts are critical to catch elusive deals.

-- Travelers from big markets should wait. Travelers flying to and from major airports are much more likely to see price drops this fall and should closely monitor for lower fares before purchasing. Those flying in or out of smaller regional airports, which have been more affected by airline capacity cuts, should buy as soon as they find a fare with which they are comfortable - don't expect major price drops this fall.

-- Travelers will pay more this year.