GETTING CLIENTS TRAVELLING AGAIN
Asked about the biggest impediments to getting clients travelling right now, agents cite reasons ranging from perceptions about travel restrictions, to nervousness about airports, airplanes and the like, to lack of awareness about how relatively open travel has become.
Sheila Gallant-Halloran with Lush Life Travel in Ottawa says she’s fortunate to have many clients already travelling – or about to. “I have a client’s family finally headed to Kenya today for a bucket list trip that was cancelled twice before because of the pandemic; and have had multiple client couples and families do the Rocky Mountaineer, take Alaska cruises, go to Hawaii and Costa Rica; visit Newfoundland, Vancouver, California, and Florida; head off to Italy, France, Greece, Portugal, Monaco, and Ireland; and take different European river cruises and small ship ocean cruises. Several more river cruises and an Iceland cruise coming up. And even some world cruises.”
Gallant-Halloran adds: “I think most of my clients are aware they can travel now – at least I’ve been preaching that in my weekly newsletter throughout the pandemic, and have certainly shared with clients every time there’s been a lessening of rules and regulations impacting Canadians’ travelling.
For those clients still hesitating, or not yet ready to travel – “and yes, I have whole swaths still in this camp” – Gallant-Halloran says it’s a combination of factors, including fear, and hesitancy after two years at home, insurance worries, continually changing entry, exit, and vaccination rules, and of course airport delays and congestion worldwide.
“There are things I can’t really help with though – like the inordinate delays to get passports, and the lineups they will encounter everywhere. But I am very upfront with my clients about these complications, and while I can guide them and give advice and recommendations, I have to let their stress level guide them,” she says.
- Are you currently making any travel plans for 2022? YES 71%
- Now that the advisory against non-essential travel has been eased, do you feel comfortable travelling again? Yes 64%
- Are you more likely to travel for a longer period of time post-pandemic? YES 40%
- Are you more likely to book private tours so as to stay within your own personal travel bubble, post-pandemic? YES 39%
- Have you been able to save money through the pandemic that might be allocated to future travel? Yes 43%
- After seeing the impact of the pandemic, are you more likely to purchase travel insurance for future trips? YES 82%
- Are you likely to splurge more on travel this year than in past years? Yes 44%
- Do you feel there is significant pent-up demand resulting in many bookings now that travel restrictions have eased? YES 84%
- Do you think that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown travellers the value of working with a travel agent? YES 94%
- What describes your general feeling about the future of travel? Optimistic 48% Cautiously optimistic 42%
- Are you tending to see larger or smaller travel budgets with consumers? Bigger 50% About the same 47%
- Do you think Canadians are ready to start travelling to the US? Yes, I have seen a lot of interest 45%
- Which destinations in the US are you getting the most interest about? Southern US 38% Hawaii 35% West Coast 19%
- What impact has the federal government’s easing of travel restrictions, including the lowered Level 2 travel advisory, and the elimination of the prearrival COVID test rule for fully vaccinated travellers, had on your booking volumes? Bookings and inquiries at my agency have skyrocketed since the travel restrictions eased 47%
Let me know if you’d like to start travelling again!