Welcome back to Philip James Travel!
As we can hopefully begin to see the end of our lockdown in sight, would you like to know everything there is to know about travel summed up in two simple words? I’m so pleased you asked! This is actually my most often-used response when talking about almost any aspect of travel. “It depends”.
The reality these days in the travel world -- and pretty much all other sectors of our economy and our personal lives -- is that there are so many more questions than there are answers. And each answer (or speculation) leads to a host of follow up questions. But to give you something a little more concrete than just, “it depends”, I’d like to share with you a few of my generalized observations of what I think the travel landscape is shaping into:
1. Travel will be different than before.
2. If you can’t be flexible with your time or your intended itinerary, it’s probably not yet time for you to travel. Disruptions before and during travel are likely to be the norm rather than the exception for a while to come. Ultimately, your comfort level will be the driver of when you're ready to travel.
3. In the short term (3-6 months), travel for many people will likely be regional and domestic or perhaps to short-haul flight destinations outside the US.
4. “Wait and see” will continue to be a mantra to live by as well as, “postpone – don’t cancel!”
5. Read all the fine print about deposits and cancellation policies and know what you’re agreeing to. Most cancelations are non-refundable.
6. Strongly consider purchasing travel insurance. Having a policy is about so much more than being able to cancel a trip and get your money back.
7. If you’re expecting that travel will be significantly discounted in the coming months, think again. Though there may be some deals to be had, they’ll mostly be in the form of added value rather than decreased cost.
8. Availability is going to be limited in many destinations especially over the 2020 Christmas holidays.
9. Get used to wearing masks and maintaining some level of social distancing. For the foreseeable future, you will be required by most if not all airlines to wear face masks during all phases of your flight.
10. The importance of working with a professional travel advisor is more relevant than ever before.
TAD? Who’s TAD and why are we celebrating him? In keeping with the celebratory theme of the last 2 issues of this newsletter (Andrew’s birthday 2-weeks ago, and our wedding anniversary last week, today we celebrate National Travel Advisor Day. This is a special day that falls within the larger National Travel & Tourism Week. Did you know that globally in 2019, travel and tourism directly contributed approximately 2.9 trillion U.S. dollars to GDP and that this industry employs a little more than one-tenth of the global workforce? I am hopeful and expectant that the industry will revive, supported by travelers who yearn to see and experience the world – even if in the near term that world is very close to your own back yard.
Since Travel Advisor Day is not quite as familiar a holiday to most folks as say Cinco de Mayo or National Fruit Cocktail Day (May 13th), it might be a helpful reminder to you to know that gift-giving is not a customary way of celebrating this auspicious occasion; nevertheless, delivering a bottle of Veuve Cliquot (a Susan favorite) to your favorite travel advisor is always welcome and appropriate – as is a call to discuss your travel questions or plans.
Thanks as always for taking a moment to visit us here at Philip James Travel.
Keep your travel dreams alive, and stay well, and let us know if we can help you.
Destination Inspiration (for when the time is right): Ireland
Philip -