‘I’m vaccinated and I want to leave’

Delta variant a monkey wrench for travel agents

The travel industry has taken quite a beating during the pandemic, and that includes tour companies and travel agents. And Richard Arnold, owner of Atlantic Tours in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is willing to get down to specifics.

“In 2020, we had one per cent of our sales of 2019, and we’re not expecting much of an improvement for 2021,” Arnold said.

The pandemic has meant he’s had to reduce staffing levels by half. But there is still work to be done, as the remaining staff are busy doing the work going into booking packages — as well as the work that goes into cancelling those packages when they end up not going ahead.

“We’re living on the money we made prior to 2020; if you’ve been in this for a lot of years, you might be able to offset a little better than others,” Arnold said.

Even so, travel agents remain hopeful increasing vaccination rates will give travellers peace of mind when they decide to once again book a cruise or hop on a plane to more tropical climes.

“One of the first sentences I hear (from potential clients) is, ‘I’m vaccinated and I want to leave’,” said Melanie Macleod, with Tpi-macleod Travel & Cruise Centre in Sydney, N.S.

While the Canadian government still advises Canadians against non-essential travel outside the country, the fact is that flights are leaving the country, and Canadians can visit certain nations under certain rules and regulations.

Those rules depend on the country, but typically, there needs to be proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test, and/or quarantine periods for non-vaccinated travellers.

HOPING FOR 2022 TRIPS

Most travel agents say many of their customers are booking trips for later in 2022. Macleod said many travellers are buying all-inclusive resort packages for the big three tropical destinations: Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Cuba.

“And there are so many wanting to go to the States. A lot are booked for midfebruary, March Break and April (of 2022),” Macleod said, adding that many are also booking cruises for 2022 and 2023.

Macleod warns that some of the hoops travellers may need to jump through can be costly. For example, she knows of individuals travelling to parts of the United States who had to fork out roughly $300 for a negative COVID test before they could enter the country.

In any case, Macleod advises people to pay close attention to the Covid-related situation in the country you are considering travelling to, as rules and regulations are subject to change. She said tour companies are very hands-on and will contact you if there are any changes to your trip itinerary.

DELTA IMPACT

In St. John’s, Lois Barbour, owner of Travel TIME-TPI, says the emergence of the Delta variant has slowed the pace of bookings.

Earlier in the year, she says, “a lot of our promotions created hopeful booking; the majority of those chose to move (their travel dates) to 2022.” But as the fourth wave spreads in Canada and other parts of the world, bookings have dropped off.

“That avenue is silent at the moment,” she said. “We’re dealing with the people who are already booked.”

She pointed out the rebound was faster in larger locations in Central Canada compared to Newfoundland, as the larger centres have more direct flights to desired destinations.

Barbour says it’s quite understandable why many still feel travel is too risky, as they’d fear the possibility of getting a positive COVID test.

“With jobs, family, children, whatever, they don’t want to take the risk of travelling, if you end up getting a positive test.”

NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL?

Travis Stewart of Stewart Travel Group in Charlottetown, P.E.I., says a major frustration for many in the travel industry is the fact the Canadian government still advises Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside the country, even as Canada is now open to fully vaccinated travellers worldwide.

“The risk (of leaving the country) isn’t any greater than allowing everyone in (Canada),” Stewart said.

Stewart said business was brisk in early 2021, with many packages for 2022 being sold out. But he, too, has experienced a downturn in sales when the Delta variant took hold in early summer.

Even with vaccines, unexpected hurdles have popped up for travellers. Arnold, of Atlantic Tours, says one major issue is the fact the U.S. and other countries will not accept foreign travellers with a mixed regiment of vaccines.

In Arnold’s own example, he has one shot of Astrazeneca and one Moderna, which means cruises departing from North America or destinations in certain parts of the world are off-limits right now.

Some of his customers also have mixed vaccines, so Atlantic Tours has ended up calling off some tours.

“If I had two Astrazeneca or two Moderna shots, I’d be fine,” he said. “We followed our Public Health initiatives that recommended taking the first vaccine you can get.”

Even within Canada, Atlantic Tours has had to cancel packages due to increasing case counts in Central Canada.

“With the current situation, you don’t want to risk your clients’ money if you have to go back into lockdown,” Arnold said, noting that many hotels have a non-refundable policy 30 days prior to departure.

FUTURE WAVES?

Arnold is also concerned about the rise of the Delta variant and what that could mean for travel. While he has strong bookings for 2022, he wonders what will happen when countries experience future waves.

“What does this mean?

If the vaccines don’t work against new variants … is it back to square one?”

Stewart said another industry shutdown would be “catastrophic” but he’d be surprised if things went that far.

Even so, long-term projections are that it would be up to five years before the industry gets back to where it was in 2019, he said.

He’s hopeful as the federal election is over that “things will … change relatively quickly” and talk of additional supports for the industry will start up again.

“We’re looking toward continued help from our government to bridge that gap.”

Stewart said while the travel industry, and people in general, have had a challenging year-and-a-half, he points out our lives here in Atlantic Canada have been fairly normal with some inconveniences.

In contrast, popular destinations such as those in the Caribbean, which has tourism as a major source of income, have been “totally devastated” economically due to the pandemic.

“It will be another winter without substantial tourism to the Caribbean,” Stewart said. “Their recovery will be very, very, very slow.”

HOPING FOR THE BEST

While it will take time for things to bounce back to something close to where they used to be, travel agents are trying to remain hopeful. Besides high vaccination rates, more ways to boost confidence in the travelling public would include vaccine passports and mandating airline employees be vaccinated.

Many travel agents also emphasize the importance of having a travel advisor in your corner.

Barbour noted that resorts and cruises have put in the hard work to ensure safety is top of mind.

Her company has extensive dealings with the Sandals chain of Caribbean luxury beach resorts. Those resorts have protocols in place that include extra travel insurance and free COVID-19 testing on-site for guests returning to Canada.

“We like how they’ve been so accommodating,” she said.

Cruises, Barbour said, have always been a clean, safe environment and are even more so now, with reduced capacity and other measures.

“You have to be to gain people’s confidence,” she said.

Overall, security and peace of mind are important for travellers at any time. Macleod said her advice during the COVID era is simple: if you’re determined to go somewhere and want to stay safe, then continue all the public health measures that have been working all along, including wearing a mask.

“If we stick to the way we’ve been going … I think (travellers) will be secure,” she said.