Venture Capital Firms Climbing Aboard Travel Start-Ups
[div]From the Wall Street Journal:[end-div] Although a sagging economy continues to upset the vacation industry, venture investors are still booking reservations with travel-related start-ups. The first half of this year alone has seen at least 10 investments in travel companies that range from providing online reviews, recommendations and bookings to vacation rental management software. Venture capitalists are attracted to the billions of dollars spent each year by consumers online for travel plus the money that marketers shell out to attract their business, suggesting they see the segment as a good recession play. It’s also a growing industry. Forrester Research expects $115.6 billion will be spent for travel online in the U.S. alone this year, and that number is expected to jump to $157.8 billion by 2013. “You have all these…