It's still a couple of weeks before Memorial Day and the official start of summer. But for anyone planning an international trip—or even a local jaunt—the prospect of a summer vacation may bring with it more stress than serenity.

Fuel prices are hitting record highs, ratcheting up the cost of everything from foie gras to first-class plane tickets. The dollar is falling against foreign currencies from the pound to the krona. And the airline industry is riddled with failed mergers and bankruptcies and hampered by limited airspace and poor customer service.
    
Nevertheless, "history has shown that travelers will continue to do whatever it takes in order to take a trip," says Cathy Keefe, a spokeswoman for the Travel Industry Association, a trade group based in Washington, D.C. Keefe points out that in 2001, when the U.S. entered a recession after the terrorist attacks of September 11, summer travelers were more cautious, but international and domestic travel continued.

Besides, she says, consumers are willing to modify travel plans—turning a long trip into a short one, or tacking a few days of vacation onto a business trip to save on airfare.

In other words, you probably won't be swearing off your passport anytime soon.

According to Mike Pina, the director of public relations at the American Automobile Association, which released an international summer-travel forecast last week, more Americans are actually expected to travel abroad this summer than last. Pina says that 25 million Americans will venture overseas this summer, a 2.6 percent increase. And those travelers will spend a total of $30 billion abroad, up $1 billion from last year.

As it turns out, travel-minded shoppers are already spending—and not just on airfare and hotel rooms. Part of the fun of a summer jaunt, after all, is collecting the accessories to take you there in style. And especially this summer, with flight delays and security lines looming, upscale travelers are determined to travel in comfort.

"Even though the economy isn't great, our customer is less affected," says Kimberly Oser, a public relations director at Barneys New York. Oser has seen summer travel clothes and accessories, like Barneys' signature cashmere travel blankets, pillowcases, and sleep masks, flying off the shelves since they arrived in March.

One of Oser's favorites is a silk sleep mask from Daniel A. Hansen. It retails for $90—a small price to pay for sleep uninterrupted by the reading light of your airplane-seat neighbor or the early rising sun in an east-facing hotel suite. It's just one indulgence that can make travel more pleasant this season. (See slide show) Best of all, they can all be purchased in advance of your trip—in dollars.