TAMPA - One of the few bits of current good news for the area's hospitality industry is this: The Tampa-St. Petersburg area rose from third to second place in 2009 among the most desired vacation destinations for AAA Auto Club South members, following Orlando and leading the Florida Keys, Atlanta and Savannah, Ga.

As the nation's poor economy continues to take its toll on travel and expenditures, travel officials who gathered at the 10th annual Hillsborough County Hotel and Motel Association Trends and Forecasting Forum at the Tampa Airport Marriott on Wednesday tried to get beyond the old news of the bad economy and focused on how area hoteliers and others might better cope these days.

The accent was on understanding changes in leisure travelers' habits.

Fresh marketing should include a focus on the local areas to push local attractions and on a two- to three-hour nearby drive market, forum participants agreed.

The latest trend is a "daycation," when people get the urge to get out of the house to go to Busch Gardens, the Museum of Science & Industry, the zoo or the beaches, said Bill Latta, senior vice president of AAA Auto Club South.

That's a refinement of "staycations," weekend getaways that remain popular from October 2007, when the hotel economy began to founder.

Travelers are finding four-diamond rated hotels and motels offered at three-diamond prices, and three- and two-diamond properties offering perquisites along with low prices.

"Value is the key," Latta said. "Anything free gets top consideration."

reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817.