((L) Mexico is a current popular travel destination. (R) Hawaiian travel is huge at the moment because it’s within the U.S. | Photos courtesy of Sandy Ewing)
As the world begins to reopen after our long pandemic shutdown, people are excited to get out and travel again. But as the pros agree, traveling is not as straightforward as it used to be. Staying on top of changing regulations and each destination’s unique requirements is no simple task for travelers or travel agents.
“Business is crazy right now, not only with new clients, but because we are also re-booking all those trips we canceled over the last year and a half. That’s what makes it crazy, because those people want to use what they couldn’t use at the end of 2019 and in 2020,” says Sandy Ewing of Bend-based Travel and Unravel, part of Travel Leaders Group. “Bookings in 2019 for 2020 was off the charts; people were traveling like crazy, so to have to cancel and refund or rebook all of those was nuts… I never want to go through that again! Business is getting to that point again where we have lots of people wanting to travel, but because we can’t travel the world yet, they are limited. People are ready to go, but I’m booking a lot more for 2022, because they are still waiting to see what will transpire.”
Bernie Reumann, manager of Getaways Travel in Bend and Pasadena, California, says business is slow, but seems to be on an upward swing. “Last year didn’t exist, and compared to prior years, we have a long way to go to catch up,” he says. “Cruises have been 60 percent of our business; we have a pretty loyal following there. People are signing up for 2022 and 2023 cruises, if they can get in. Lots of them are booked up already.”
“People are anxious to travel again,” agrees Carrie Hicks of Papaya Travel Company in Bend. “Before the pandemic hit, Papaya Travel was having the best year yet. We’re not back to that pre-pandemic level yet, but business is picking up.”
Current Travel Trends & Concerns
Pre-pandemic, European travel was highly popular, say the pros. But now, because not all of Europe has reopened yet, it’s not the hot destination it was before. “We are still facing challenges, because we don’t know from one day to the next what’s going to be open and what’s not,” says Reumann, who has been in the travel business since 1977. “For people who like to go to Europe, there seems to be changes every day as to whether or not you can get in. Some countries are still closed up; quite a few, actually.”
Other countries that are popular with American tourists but are still closed include South America, New Zealand, Australia, Norway and Japan, Reumann says. “I’m thinking of those because those are places where we’ve had cruise passengers booked, but they have had to cancel because they can’t get into the country.” He continues, “The whole thing is a very fluid situation, we are just going one day to the next. It’s tough planning a vacation because people don’t know what’s happening. For example, we are booking for a cruise in Bordeaux, France, and even though the cruise is on, other things on the ground may not be open, so people can’t have the full experience. As a result, they are delaying until the next year.”
Ewing, who has lived in Bend for 35 years and been in the travel business for 12, agrees that the travel industry is fluid at the moment, and says that the destinations she is booking have changed since pre-pandemic, partly due to the COVID testing requirements. “The vaccine is the big thing: A lot of cruise lines are requiring the vaccine to cruise now, but lots of clients are refusing to get vaccinated. Others have been vaccinated and are going everywhere they can go. It’s very individual; there is nothing across the board. Everyone has their own individual concerns. I’ve booked Hawaii like crazy, but there is anxiousness over being tested. If vaccinated, you no longer have to be tested, but for those who aren’t, they have to be tested, and they worry about testing positive and having to reschedule the trip.”
Ewing says that those who have been vaccinated can go more places, but for now, Mexico and Hawaii are “off the charts” in terms of bookings. “Pre-pandemic, Europe was all I was booking. But now, I think people just find it easier to go to Mexico, and of course Hawaii, because it’s in the U.S. Alaska is also now picking up. That’s because the cruise lines are able to start cruising again. In the summertime, cruises are Alaska’s bread and butter.”
Flying domestically has become easier than it was a few months ago, Reumann says, and most planes within the U.S. are fairly full again. But internationally, there aren’t that many flights, he says. “Airlines have not brought back international flights in full. It’s a challenge to get people places.” Although Hawaii is within the U.S., flying there can still be tricky, he says, because of the three-day COVID test requirement. “People may have to run over to Portland or Salem to get the one-day test. Those are the only places where they will guarantee results within three days.” He continues, “People don’t know if they’ll get results in time to leave or not. Some big airports, like San Francisco and Los Angeles, offer testing at the airport. But if you have one of those done, it can cost you $250.” He adds, “The airlines haven’t asked people to show vaccine proof yet.”
The Challenges Faced by Travel Pros
While most are happy that the business of travel has picked up again, the agents agree that their jobs are much more difficult now than they used to be. Knowing how to navigate the constant changes and what to do if there is a problem is challenging.
“There are so many facets to everything; it’s changed so much. It’s not the same job I did a year a half ago at all,” explains Ewing. “The airlines are still allowing you to change tickets without charging a change fee, which has been really good, but usually there is no refund unless you have a first-class ticket. Hotels are still good in refunding if a cancellation is made within 48 hours of the reservation. But suppliers, on the other hand, are asking you to buy travel insurance so that you can get your money back if you cancel, especially if traveling outside of the U.S.” Reumann says if he books a cruise and it gets cancelled by the cruise line, the client is not out any money. “They may get a cruise credit rather than cash back, but they won’t lose anything,” he says.
Despite the efforts made by destinations and suppliers to accommodate travelers, there are many contingencies that must be considered when traveling now. “We have to be careful, even as agents, to really read that fine print,” says Ewing. “Things have changed a lot since pre-pandemic. Some suppliers are giving credits for future travel, but sometimes people don’t want to do that. If they are canceling, they are canceling,” she says. “This is an ongoing discussion within the travel agent industry. It’s not straight across the board; you have to look at every single supplier of what you are booking. They have all instituted different policies with COVID. For example, what happens when someone tests positive while traveling back from Mexico, or what happens if someone gets really sick and has to be hospitalized while traveling? We have to look at who covers what.” Ewing says she knows of agents who had clients travel to Mexico, and the clients had to be tested before coming back into the United States. “A couple of them have tested positive. Some resorts will let you stay if you test positive, but others will charge you. Even if a client has travel insurance, they don’t know if the insurance will cover the extra stay charges, or the flight, which may be more expensive by the time they can travel again. There are lots of different scenarios we have to consider. That’s why we are professionals at our jobs. We don’t just take your money and send you on your way for your vacation; we make sure that all the bases are covered, at least the ones we can cover.”
Though travel has gained momentum in recent months, Ewing says that what she has not seen return yet is group travel. “Before, we’d see different clubs book a cruise or a trip to Mexico or Arizona, but now we don’t see that as much. We are seeing lots of families traveling together.”
Flying Safety
One question on the minds of most who are traveling again now is what it’s like to fly. Hicks says that she hasn’t heard about any issues with health or cleanliness on the airlines, but that clients are nervous about what the airlines require. ”There are definitely concerns regarding a particular destination’s requirements, and whether or not they have everything they need to board the flight,” she says.
Ewing has been flying every month since May of 2020, she says, and believes it is safe to do so. “It’s neat to see how things have progressed. Every month it gets a little busier. Some clients don’t worry at all, but others continually ask me about safety,” she says. “You have to reinforce it; I tell my clients exactly what it’s like. I tell them where I’ve been and what it’s been like. I try to calm their concerns.” She adds, “The good part of the pandemic is that everything is cleaner now, like the planes and the airports. I feel like this is a good thing that has come out of it.”
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