Where We Are with the Return of Travel
By Kristy Mosolino
I have been asked to guest write for Great Escape Publishing’s Travel Writer’s Café each quarter. This is a paid publication, but I have their express permission to share this published article with our Wishes Travel group this month. Although longer than our normal blogs, it’s a worthwhile read!
Traveling is not something you're good it. It's something you do. Like breathing~ Gayle Forman
It's been nine months. Nine long months. When I think of that time frame, I say "Wow, I could have had a baby by now." But truthfully, what COVID-19 has done to the travel industry is as lifechanging as having a baby!
I was so fortunate to be invited to guest write for the Travel Writer's Café back in May, as we were first emerging from the initial shockwave of COVID-19's effects. At that point, the travel industry was reeling from mass cancellations as clients were hesitant to commit to travel when the extent of COVID-19 was unknown.
I had the fortune of working with suppliers on a recovery plan back then where we saw travel returning in four phases, from domestic road trips to ultimately seeing Europe open and the cruising industry return. We got the phases right...but the timeline is more extended than we thought.
Adaptation has been key—and successful agents have learned to balance on our toes. What has become paramount is our ability to lead by example, stay on top of travel trends, offer our clients flexibility, focus on safety, and keep an eye on the travel horizon.
Travel Industry Leading the Way
Initially this year, we saw a huge push for road trips, and camping was a hot commodity. People were apprehensive about air travel and going to a crowded destination. The idea of getting on an airplane or being in a busy theme park was absolutely untenable.
While travelers were choosing to venture out by car or RV, our travel industry put it in gear, working with CDC guidance to come up with COVID protocols that would allow travel to resume, keeping safety as a top priority.
(We'll speak more on that a bit later).
Around mid-summer, airline travel resumed, theme parks commenced welcoming guests, and places like Mexico and the Caribbean opened their borders to travelers.
So...what exactly did travel advisors do? We led by example!
Like canaries in a coal mine, we safely got on planes, visited theme parks, and shared photos of us lying on the beach at beautiful Caribbean resorts. Even if it meant we needed a brain-tickling COVID test to travel, we did it.
Then something magical happened—social media accounts lit up and our phones started ringing. Suddenly, we were running quotes, and ultimately booking families to those same destinations we were visiting. Our boots were on the ground, and we had clients following right behind us. If we could do it and felt good about it, so could they!
What's Hot in Travel Trends
As the months progressed, travel trends have stayed strong with a slow migration from domestic destinations to theme parks, and ultimately island travel.
Walt Disney World and Universal Studios in Florida continued to increase in popularity as people realized that traveling without a mask may be a long-term necessity. Due to guest demand, theme parks were able to safely increase their park capacity from 25 percent to 35 percent.
Mexico resorts began welcoming guests in June in the tourist corridors of Riviera Maya and Los Cabos. As demand picked up, we saw an increase in flights to the point that airlines like American routinely fly full. Resorts have increased their capacity up to 60%—all while balancing guest demand and safety.
Many Caribbean islands developed testing protocols to open their borders. Once islands substituted COVID testing for their initial quarantine requirements, we saw demand for places like Jamaica, Antigua, and St. Lucia resume.
Because flight costs have remained relatively low, people are deciding to travel last minute to many destinations, rather than delay their vacation. Where our previous lead time was several months for international travel, we're now booking our passport-ready clients on trips leaving in as little as four to five days.
Flexibility is Key
The initial reason behind mass cancellations back in April was not just fear of infection from COVID. It was more so the combination of not being able to cancel if needed and the fact that traditional travel insurance does not cover cancellations due to fear of a pandemic (just illness from). Our clients were afraid they'd lose their money should they not be able to travel.
The travel industry responded accordingly! Hotels advertised generous cancellation policies and suppliers offered travel-advertised flexible "Cancel for Any Reason" insurance policies that allowed travelers to either receive cash back or future trip vouchers should they need to cancel.
Most airlines and suppliers waived change fees if a client needed to change hotels, destination, or even dates of travel. As travel agents, we stood ready to assist; if a client's COVID test results weren't back in time, and they wouldn't be able to enter St. Lucia, we could either delay the trip—or book them to Mexico!
Safety, Sanitization, and Social Distancing
It's ironic...as much as strict COVID protocols here in the U.S. have led to divisiveness, that same concept for destination travel is why travel can and has resumed.
Strict mask protocols in theme parks and at the hotels, which was once a deterrent for travel, is exactly why people feel safe, and this process has allowed these parks to increase capacity. The hotels require temperature-taking before check-in and have increased technology, thereby minimizing contact between guests and staff. In Disney theme parks, for example, employees must wear not only masks, but also face shields.
For passport-required travel, most destinations require PCR-COVID test results sent to the destination before approval for travel is even granted. Without a negative test and authorization, travelers will not even be allowed to board the airplane.
Although Mexico is not requiring COVID testing at this time, they still have strict travel protocols in place. You can expect consistent temperature checks and required use of sanitizer from the moment you arrive to the time you leave. Resorts have a similar screening process of disinfection, temperature checks, masking, and requirements for social distancing in public spaces.
Hotel brands can vary a bit in their mask protocols, so as travel advisors it's been extremely important for us to qualify our clients on what level of safety they are comfortable with.
Further protection can be offered through travel insurance. As advisors we are able to offer both a "Cancel for any reason policy" but also recommend the clients purchase a second policy that can provide more medical support and destination coverage. There are policies that even include medical evacuation. And some hotel brands even offer a supplementary insurance policy that will cover allow in-hotel quarantine if necessary
In the Dominican Republic, this supplementary insurance is complimentary to all travelers entering the country.
What's on the Horizon
As travel advisors, we continue to book travelers to destinations that we can, while also keeping a pulse on what lies ahead.
Europe, for the most part, is still not accessible for non-essential travel by Americans. There is some demand for places like Croatia, which remains open, but with the exception of honeymoon planning, we're finding that many of our clients are waiting to book their trip when borders reopen, or a vaccine becomes readily available.
Surprisingly, cruise travel is now the latest hot topic in the travel industry. Although cancellations remain in effect through January 2021, progress is being made. Last month, the CDC announced that it was lifting the travel ban on cruising and has begun working with the cruise industry on protocols necessary for travel resumption. On calls with our cruise representatives, we were notified that as travel advisors, we may be asked to volunteer to travel on the first cruises and, in essence, again become canaries in the coal mine. We are more than happy to oblige!
All said, we remain optimistic on the slow resumption of the travel.
It will look different, it will require patience, flexibility, and faith—but, rest assured, it is happening. Our clients tell us time and time again that travel is one of the major contributors to their happiness.
It's one of the reasons we're seeing those who can travel doing so, and those who can't quite yet voicing their desire to resume travel as soon as they possibly can.
