As more and more borders reopen to travel more than six months into the COVID-19 pandemic and travelers once again begin planning trips, it's never been more important to work with a travel advisor. For many, the thought of going to a professional invokes the common misconception of hiring someone for something they can do themselves but that notion is quickly dispelled when you remember all of the benefits of relying on a travel advisor, who is standing by to not only plan but ensure that your trip goes off without a hitch. Let's block ads! (Why?)

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is partnering with travel insurance provider Trip Mate to offer policies covering travelers who book stays at participating member hotels, officials from the organizations said Tuesday.The CHTA’s Travel Protection Plan policies from Trip Mate cover non-refundable expenses paid for the portion of a hotel booking that goes unused and additional transportation expenses if a guest needs to interrupt his or her trip due to a covered reason, including COVID-19-related illnesses.The partnership allows CHTA member hotels to offer “a comprehensive travel protection plan for covered cancellations, interruptions, delays, baggage mishaps and medical situations that may arise during a guest’s trip,” according to a Saint Lucia Times report. Trending Now Restricted to U.S. travelers, the policies are the first to be offered to hotel guests via a major Caribbean hospitality group. Some Caribbean destinations are also offering travel insurance policies intended to encourage visitors following COVID-19 driven closures.The policies protect guests and the Caribbean hoteliers’ revenues, which have been devastated by pandemic shutdowns, said Frank Comito, CHTA’s CEO.“People planning travel during these unprecedented times are concerned about the unpredictable,” he said, “but their worries may be eased with coverage under our [plan],” which he described as “a way to protect your investment when it comes to travel planning.”Comito cited a recent survey by Oracle and Skift that found consumers are “demanding flexible [hotel] cancellation and refund policies, which travel insurance helps to address.” He added, “a growing number of countries throughout the world, including several in the Caribbean, now require travel protection to enter their country.” Let's block ads! (Why?)

Travelers who are eager to get out and explore once again are ready to pay for mandatory COVID-19 protection in order to ensure their safety.Global Rescue surveyed current and former members and found that a large majority (60 percent) would be willing to pay between $50 and $100 for screening and testing services to minimize the effects of COVID-19.Travelers are also willing to pay for mitigation and remediation in case of infection, including provisions for isolation accommodations, quarantine facilities and ground or air transport. “The pandemic has taken an unprecedented toll on the world’s population and its economies. Covid-19 understandably tops the list of all traveler concerns. But the survey results send a clear message that travelers are eager to fight back with an overwhelming willingness for comprehensive, mandatory Covid-19 protections for themselves and all travelers. And they are willing to pay for it,” said Global Rescue CEO Dan Richards. Trending Now Overwhelmingly, travelers say that they would feel safer with services and protections that cover pre- and on-trip COVID-19 testing, required quarantines, evacuation costs and door-to-door trip insurance.“The majority (91 percent) of responding travelers were equally adamant in their support for mandating all travelers obtain the same Covid-19 protections for their personal safety, the safety of others, and to prevent adverse selection,” Richards said.There is also overwhelming support for government regulation of these procedures.“Eighty-eight percent of travelers want governments or organizations to step in and systematize programs calculated to beat Covid-19,” noted Richards. “But not every government or organization has the resources or the expertise to provide screening, testing, triage, quarantine facilities, ground and air transport, data collection and case management.”Richards’ organization has developed a comprehensive program that can be implemented by a variety of governments and organizations.“At the onset of the pandemic, Global Rescue recognized the threat and developed a new services program designed to defeat the threat of Covid-19 on behalf of governments and organizations,” said Global Rescue vice president of operations Scott Hume.Global Rescue can provide emergency action planning, training and staffing as well as testing and tracing services. It can also supply response and remediation in case of an outbreak, including quarantine and isolation accommodations, management of ground and air medical evacuation, treatment and more. PHOTO: A man undergoing a COVID-19 test. (photo via zoranm/E+) “Testing for active Covid-19 infection is a key part of the public health response to bring this pandemic under control,” said Global Rescue medical director Claudia Zegans. “Travelers are right to recognize this fact, and to want access to reliable testing with results that come back in a timely manner to facilitate safe travel for themselves and others.”While the survey found that travelers would be willing to pay for safety precautions related to COVID-19 in order to travel again, it also found a number of other factors weighed on travelers.In order to feel safe traveling internationally and domestically, many said they would wait until lockdowns were removed by the government. Forty-six said this regarding domestic travel, and 68 percent indicated this was true of traveling internationally.Forty-one percent said that they would wait for a vaccine to travel again domestically, and 50 percent said the same for international travel.Twenty-eight percent said that they would wait for a COVID-19 treatment to travel domestically, and 35 percent would wait for treatment to travel internationally.When it is safe to travel again, travelers do intend to get out and explore and make up for lost time. Fifty-two percent expect to travel internationally where possible, and 35 percent plan to go to more remote, less crowded destinations.However, some people are curbing their exploits or plan to stay closer to home.Thirty-two anticipate taking fewer trips, and 22 percent said they’ll only travel domestically.Some (22 percent) will take longer trips when travel reopens on a large scale, and 18 percent plan on taking an extra trip.Twenty percent of travelers are looking to take advantage of discounts, deals and specials. Five percent said that they would look into taking a less expensive trip.One key thing that some travelers will look for is healthcare in a destination. Thirteen percent responded that they look forward to traveling only to places with modern healthcare facilities. Let's block ads! (Why?)

Travel search engine Skyscanner today released a new report entitled ‘The New World of Travel’, in which it explores the most important travel trends to emerge amid the pandemic. Its data and extensive consumer research revealed some expected behaviors to be seen among U.S. travelers once they begin to venture out internationally again.Findings showed that U.S. residents are eager to travel again, and their travel-related online searches and intent levels proved to be among the most substantial in comparison to the other major countries Skyscanner analyzed.For instance, during the month of August 2020, U.S. consumer searches for international travel were down by just six percent from the monthly average seen in 2019—proof of Americans’ pent-up wanderlust as they await the day that it’s safe to venture outside the States. Meanwhile, the number of domestic travel searches conducted in August 2020 was actually six percent higher than the 2019 monthly average, as Americans whose trips had been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic or whose dreams of vacationing abroad were dashed turned their attention to an exploration of their own country. Trending Now Skyscanner found that 44 percent of U.S. travelers now believe it safe to travel domestically and are evidently acting on those beliefs, given that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened almost one million passengers each day during the recent Labor Day weekend.“Travel for most Americans has been largely confined to domestic for the last few months, with all but essential international travel canceled or postponed,” said Crossey. “However, what has been amazing to see is the adaptability and resilience shown by American travelers…those who had their hearts set on going abroad over summer simply adapted their mindset and have been adventuring a little closer to home this year.”He added, “Of course, they are still dreaming of international travel, we see that very clearly in our data and hear it every day when we speak to our travelers.” Skyscanner’s information also revealed the top ten destinations that Americans are hoping to visit during Summer 2021. Ranked first to last, they are: London, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Rome, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Athens, Papeete, Barcelona.U.S. travelers’ flexible attitudes are expected to continue well into 2021 as conditions surrounding the pandemic evolve. Skyscanner found that 11 percent of Americans were departing for their trips within a week of booking and predicts that this tendency to travel within tighter timeframes will continue well into the coming year; especially given major airlines’ current change-fee waivers and flexible booking policies.As for which types of travelers will be the first to begin booking international trips, the data indicated that male travelers are somewhat more likely (59 percent) to book than their female counterparts, and that travelers with children (56 percent) are more likely to book than those without. Let's block ads! (Why?)

The results of Longwoods International’s most recent Wave 20 Travel Sentiment Tracking Study of U.S. travelers imply an encouraging increase in consumer confidence when it comes to traveling. Fifty percent of participants said that they “agree” or “strongly agree” that they feel safe venturing outside of their own communities this fall season.In terms of the activities that will constitute their autumn travels, two-thirds of respondents said that they plan on going to visit friends and family, while 58 percent said they’re planning to road-trip somewhere within the U.S.Survey responses made it clear that outdoor activities are preferred amid the pandemic, including visiting national or state parks (33 percent), viewing colorful fall foliage (30 percent) and hiking or biking (28 percent). Trending Now Other activities Americans are looking forward to include farmers' markets or even visiting a farm during harvest; going fruit-picking; attending festivals, theme or amusement parks; going to wineries, breweries or distilleries; and visiting museums, art galleries or other cultural attractions.“Clearly a sizeable percentage of the travelers have settled into a new ‘normal’ for traveling during the pandemic,” said Amir Eylon, President and CEO of Longwoods International. “The heavy emphasis on visiting friends and family, road trips and individual outdoor activities all reflect on the relative perceived safety of those types of getaways.”The percentage of travelers who will be altering their existing travel plans due to COVID-19 has steadily decreased, down from an April high of 85 percent to 67 percent in early September. Roughly half of respondents also said they now feel safe dining in local restaurants and shopping in local retail stores, up one percentage point from two weeks prior. Forty-three percent said that they’d now support opening their own communities up to outside visitors.The Wave-20 Travel Sentiment Study was fielded on September 9, 2020, using a randomly-selected national sample of 1,000 adults, ages 18 and over. Selection quotas were applied in keeping with Census targets for age, gender and region, making the survey as representative of the overall U.S. population as possible. Let's block ads! (Why?)

Data from the new weekly Harris Poll shows that demand for air travel could rise in the wake of airlines eliminating change fees.The polling demonstrates that with additional flexibility, airlines have given travelers the opening to resuming booking their next trip, Harris noted.The poll centered on the coronavirus pandemic has been running for 29 weeks. This most recent poll was conducted September 10-13, 2020, among a nationally representative sample of 2,037 American adults and 1,609 Americans who say they typically fly. Trending Now United, followed by American and Delta, eliminated change fees – which can be as much as $200 – late last month. It was a game-changing decision, especially with air travel off 70 percent compared to last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. But it bought the airlines a ton of goodwill, since ancillary fees are a bane of the traveler’s existence.And, now, hard and fast data shows it might have been the right decision.According to the findings, 75 percent of Americans who say they fly said they would be more likely to fly as a result of some airlines recently having announced they are doing away with change fees. That number was above 70 percent across the political spectrum.Among all Americans, 58 percent say they would be more likely to fly as a result of the elimination of change fees.Looking ahead to the fall/winter travel seasons, 39 percent of Americans say they are likely to fly for Christmas this year, while 34 percent say they are likely to fly for Thanksgiving. Some 32 percent say they will fly for New Year’s.Overall, 44 percent of Americans say they miss traveling on an airplane since the implementation of virus-related restrictions. That’s up nine percent since the second week of April. Let's block ads! (Why?)

As we head into the fall, travelers are slightly more optimistic about traveling in spite of COVID-19.MMGY Global has been tracking travelers’ perceptions during the pandemic through its monthly Travel Safety Barometer.In August, on a scale of 1-100, the safety of domestic travel earned a 49. This is up from 45 in the previous month. Confidence in international travel continues to tick up slowly to 32 up from 30 in July.Category scores, with the exception of cruise, all saw increases in the month of August.Transportation ticked up to 65 from 64; dining and entertainment rose to 45 from 43; business travel increased to 38 from 35, and lodging settled at 50 from 47. Cruise remained low at 24. Trending Now Travelers continue to have the most confidence in transportation, in particular, traveling by car. Driving a personal car scores 78 out of 100 on the barometer. Travelers have more confidence than ever in taking a domestic flight, increasing to 41. Rail scores 37, which is also higher than in previous months.Lodging also scored higher marks than ever before with a 50 out of 100. Staying in a hotel and staying in a vacation rental were both equal in their perception of safety.Perception of the safety of business travel has also begun to improve. More people considered attending an off-site business meeting or a conference as safe, too; however, numbers still remain low. More people perceived an off-site business meeting as safe, with a score of 41. Conferences scored 30 out of 100 in August.When it comes to dining and entertainment, travelers still vastly prefer outdoor activities over those that take place inside. Going to parks and beaches both score more than 50 on the barometer with parks the highest at 61 followed by beaches at 54.Outdoor sporting events scored a 40 while outdoor concerts and festivals received a 39. Visiting a bar or restaurant scored a 41, and theme parks scored a 32, the same as a theatrical performance or movie. Indoor sports and concerts/festivals were 29 and 27 respectively.Cruise still struggles in the safety department. Travelers have not yet come en masse to the point where they see cruising as safe. However, cruise scores have remained relatively stable at 24 over the last couple of months. Let's block ads! (Why?)

MMGY Travel Intelligence has released the latest in its series of travel surveys focused on traveler sentiment during the coronavirus pandemic.The survey found that travelers are becoming more likely to be interested in travel. Forty-two percent said that they are at least somewhat likely to travel. This sentiment is up from 38 percent in the previous survey wave.There was also an uptick in interest in business travel. The previous survey showed 31 percent of travelers likely to take a business trip. Now, that has reached 35 percent. In addition, business travelers who said they were not at all likely to take a business trip during the next six months declined significantly from 35 percent to just 25 percent. After trending downward for two months, even the likelihood to take an international business trip during the next six months increased. Trending Now Most travelers are interested in traveling by car within the next six months. Seventy-five percent said that they plan to take a road trip. Almost two in five respondents (39 percent) said that they are willing to drive 300 miles or more (each way) for a vacation.Travelers are starting to adapt to a new normal. Interest in engaging in vacation activities is flat or just slightly increasing.Covid-19 remains one of the greatest considerations for travelers making the decision to take a vacation, but it is on the decline. In the last survey, 58 percent indicated that Covid-19 was at least somewhat impactful on their decision. Now, 51 percent say that it is at least somewhat impactful.These numbers paint a more positive picture for travel advisors looking for the right time to reach out to clients. At this time, travelers may be more receptive to vacation-related deals over the next few months. The influence of great travel deals has increased from 30 percent last month to 33 percent in this most recent survey wave. Let's block ads! (Why?)

Discussions centering on racism and tourism have long been overdue, so it's with excitement that in the past few months, we’ve seen the travel industry ignite in a wave of conversations, panels, and discussions around that very topic.Responsible Tourism Partnership is a World Travel Market (WTM) advisory service that focuses on exactly what the name implies – responsible tourism.Though they’ve long focused on things like sustainability and overtourism, they’re taking on the discussion of racism and tourism with WTM London through a video series. Harold Goodwin, the Managing Director of the Responsible Tourism Partnership, has interviewed travel industry professionals from around the world to speak on the topic of racism and tourism.MORE Features & Advice The video series can be found on the Responsible Tourism Partnership Youtube channel. It is launching the discussion about racism and tourism before a panel on the same topic occurs at WTM London in November.Goodwin has interviewed a variety of notable travel industry professionals from all around the world.In one video, Adama Bah, the Chairman Board of Director of the Institute of Travel and Tourism of Gambia, speaks about racism in the hospitality industry and how colonialism still impacts it, as well the racist stereotypes that some tourists have about African countries and communities.Manisha Pande, the co-founder of Village Ways, an Indian Tour Operator, discussed privilege and caste systems as it related to their tours in India, and Derek Hanekom, the former Minister of Tourism of South Africa, gave his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement.Yasmin Choudery, owner of Lovedesh, Bex Shapiro, Senior Editorial Manager of Intrepid Travel North America, and myself, Alex Temblador, a travel writer, all have videos on the Racism and Tourism Youtube page, and more are expected to be released between now and November.Through an open conversation and dialogue, this Racism and Tourism video series seeks to make an impact on CEOs of travel companies, those who work in the marketing and PR side of travel, tour operators and hoteliers, and travel publications.Watch the videos here. Let's block ads! (Why?)

Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection (BHTP) released results from its State of Travel Insurance research survey, which was conducted over a span of several months during the pandemic.The measures future expectations of travel insurance purchasing and traveler habits and perceptions. One of the key data points showed that there are major contrasts between how men and women view the risks of traveling.The study showed that women are much more likely than men to follow CDC precautions as they travel. While close to 60 percent of women said they would wash their hands or use hand sanitizer more, as well as wear a mask or other protective gear, only 39 percent of men said they would do the same, according to BHTP. Trending Now Men were also more than twice as likely to take risks while traveling.Forty-eight percent of men versus 20 percent of women were willing to take risks. However, men were much more likely than women to say they would let news reports of disease outbreaks and violence in their chosen destination affect their plans to go there, BHTP found.When it comes to travel insurance, women reported buying significantly less travel insurance than men in 2020. They will also be less active in the travel insurance market during 2021.However, 38 percent of women indicated that they made their purchase of travel insurance because of fears of disease epidemics, compared to just 24 percent of men.Women purchased travel insurance o cover flight delays and cancellations, and the top reason men purchased policies was because insurance saves time and money. Let's block ads! (Why?)