Can we still do this based on the current economy?

Many teams are still traveling in 2010. Their big challenge now, with the current economy, is to still provide a once in a liftime opportunity for the trip participants. Some ideas on this:
1. Fundraise - by booking early, many teams are raising a large majority of the costs by special fundrasing programs. Many of our traveling teams in 2009 raised over 50% of their costs per player.
2. Keep trip costs down - try and choose a trip that works for your team and avoid doing multi country trips and trips of more than 10 days in duration. There are many less expensive trips available without all the 'bells and whistles'.
3. Choose the correct country, and time of year - base your choice on the gender, age and quality of your team. Then, narrow down the options based on what works best for your particular program. Just because you - the coach/manager - have never been to Spain does not mean this is the best location for your State Cup winning U15 girls team!
4. Invite guest players - many of our team, for many reasons, are unable to take European trips with their full complete player roster. Open the trip up to other teams in your club or local high school/ODP players. This ensures the nucleus of your players who want to travel do not miss out on that chance.
5. Decide early - this is a big factor in gathering momentum, getting players/parents excited, fundraising options, creating committees, etc, etc.
Above are just some ideas for 2010 travel assistance!