Travel advisors are traveling once again. In a recent survey released by Travel Experts, the host agency found that more than 82 percent of travel advisors reported taking a vacation.
However, traveling internationally has not regained popularity. When the results were broken down, 75 percent of travel advisors said that they had taken a domestic vacation while just eight percent said that they traveled out of the country.
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Many travel advisors are focused on rediscovering the U.S., after all, that is what their clients are mostly looking for.
“Most recently, I visited Nashville, Tennessee, and was surprised to find that there is much more to do in this area than the typical country music attractions,” said Renee Taylor, Travel Adviser, Renee Taylor Travel Company, Searcy, Arkansas.
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Taylor also took a road trip to Kentucky to visit horse farms and whiskey distilleries and visited Asheville, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; and Savannah, Georgia.
“I think it is important for our clients to see us traveling domestically so they will know that we have knowledge of more than Caribbean islands, cruises and areas outside of the U.S,” she said.
Taylor has also flown during the pandemic and was encouraged by the experience.
“I recently flew with Delta and the experience was seamless. Delta is blocking middle seats and boarding back to front,” she said. “Atlanta airport had hand sanitizers everywhere and I never saw anyone without a mask.”
Taylor stayed in a variety of four- and five-star properties that she also found to be safe.
“I stayed in luxury properties as well as four-star and every encounter that I had with other travelers as well as hotel staff was safe and courteous of COVID protocol,” she said. “I truly think that people who travel, whether it be for business or pleasure, genuinely want the world to open back up and therefore are doing their part in ensuring that safety protocols are met.”
Sandy Pappas of Sandy Pappas Travel in Atlanta has also been doing a lot of domestic traveling.
“I have had no difficulties in my travels except not many vendors were open at the airports and those that were had long lines so I advise bringing your own food,” Pappas said. “Not everyone was wearing masks in airports (Dallas, Atlanta and Missoula) but it was possible to social distance.”
She recommended travelers fly business class or book seats toward the front of the plane where passengers will board last and deplane first. Pappas also said that many vendors in the airport were closed, leading to long lines, and advised travelers to bring their own food to avoid the crowds.
While she has traveled in the U.S., Pappas has sent clients abroad who needed COVID-19 tests. She had no problem getting them in Atlanta and receiving timely results.
Air travel is definitely an area of transportation that could benefit from some consistency as Elaine Carey of Travel Expert in the Pines in Whispering Pines, North Carolina found.
“Since I used one airline going and another returning, I found out the differences in the two,” said Carey. “The flight on American going was almost completely filled. There were only a couple of seats empty, no concern by the airline about keeping people safe and distant. They operated as if nothing ever happened.
“The flight home was on Delta and was completely different,” she noted. “Although masks were mandatory for both, on the return flight on Delta every middle seat was empty unless there was a family or a couple together. We were each given a plastic bag with a snack, a small bottle of water, hand sanitizer wipes, a napkin and a face mask. We also boarded from the back of the plane so there was less human contact.”
Eileen Anderson of Journeys Afar in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been exploring multiple hotels and resorts and is advising clients to reserve in advance for whatever they can.
“The only issue we ran into was not getting a reservation at our preferred restaurant at the Sanctuary as they had reduced capacity indoors and out,” she said. “My prime takeaway: reserve every ‘stay and play’ item in advance–dinner reservations, tee times, bike rentals, paddleboard and other lessons, and be prepared to pivot if cases spike in the destination you are visiting.”
Theresa Jackson of Enlightened Journeys Travel in Allendale, New Jersey, has been traveling internationally and noted that flights are hard to come by to certain places.
“The most difficult thing is flights getting to where you want to go, particularly if multi-country. For instance, I wanted to combine Abu Dhabi with Tanzania for personal reasons, but getting to AD now is difficult,” said Jackson.
She also noted that accessing testing could be difficult.
“Finding the place to get you the results you need to travel in time to fit in the specific requirements of a country can still be problematic and take some time to plan and set in place,” she advised.
Anna McGarrity of WanderWell Journeys in Raleigh, North Carolina, recently returned from Tanzania and had a wonderful experience.
“Tanzania is not requiring a Covid test prior to arrival, but does require you to complete a health form,” McGarrity noted. “I did get a Covid test done as I was traveling with other agents and we all agreed to do it. I made an online appointment with the Georgia Department of Health one day in advance of the test. It took less than a minute to complete and there was no cost. Received my negative results by e-mail the following day.”
She said social distancing was easy.
“In Tanzania, sanitizing hand stations are everywhere and are encouraged. Staff at lodges and hotels are masked,” she said. “Social distancing is easy in Africa because it is just a natural part of the normal experience. I have been encouraging my clients to take advantage of the situation and have booked one trip to Africa already — great results from my own time and money investment.”