That is what journey may appear like after a pandemic

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Many Americans are thinking of traveling again.

And who can blame them? After all, it was more than a year in which the infection rates of coronaviruses fluctuated, the locks were repeatedly restricted and the quarantine was simply tired.

While Covid-19 vaccination efforts are gaining momentum across the country, tourism providers are pursuing increased interest and even business in vacations that are leaving as early as the spring of this year. However, many aspects of the travel experience have changed and can become permanent – for better or for worse.

“We are seeing a growing number of people optimistic about going either this spring or into the summer,” said Jeff Hurst, president of online vacation home rental site Vrbo in Austin, Texas and marketing co-lead at parent company Expedia Group.

“What’s encouraging is that people are essentially putting their money where their mouth is and booking this trip,” he said.

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A recent Vrbo poll of more than 8,000 people found that 65% of Americans plan to travel more in 2021 than they did before Covid.

A March poll of 535 adults by website The Vacationer found that a quarter of people would like to travel more once the pandemic is “officially” over, while just over 58% will return to pre-Covid travel habits. The same study found that 67.72% of respondents plan to travel this summer.

Expedia Group’s 2021 Travel Trends Report, conducted in December, found that 46% of people said they were more likely to travel when a vaccine becomes widely available. By Wednesday, nine states will offer vaccinations to all of their residents, and President Joe Biden wants every US adult to be eligible for a vaccination by May 1.

Jon Grutzner, president of Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold – two high-end guided vacation brands owned by Cypress, Calif. -Based The Travel Corporation – said, “As the adoption of vaccines continues, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in ours Bookings noted. “

Reservations for the third and fourth quarters of this year have now been received. “But it is 2022 that will be a record year for everyone,” said Grutzner.

Air travel is on the rise, and both short- and long-term hotel bookings are starting to recover, according to CNBC, according to Nicholas Ward, president and co-founder of Koddi, a Fort Worth, Texas-based travel booking technology company.

Ward said he saw increased vaccination rates, more travel demand and good mood data as indicators of “the possibility of a great summer period even if we don’t fully recover in 2021”.

While the demand for traditional hotel accommodation is down 13% year over year and 20% down from 2019, “this is the least that has declined in some time,” he said. “We see that things are generally going in the right direction from a travel requirement perspective and keep improving week after week.”

Even so, industry executives see no return to the pre-pandemic status quo. There’s a new normal journey, they say, for better or for worse.

“I don’t think there will be a future year that feels normal in the context of the past,” said Vrbo’s Hurb. “I don’t really plan it that way, and I’m not sure if the consumers are either.”

I can tell you that everyone should add travel insurance to every transaction.

James Ferrara

Co-founder and President of InteleTravel

James Ferrara, co-founder and president of InteleTravel in Delray Beach, Florida, a network of around 60,000 home travel agents, agreed.

“We will never go back to what the industry was like before the pandemic, and neither should we,” he said. “We’ve grown over the past year, we’ve learned a few things – and so have consumers.

Ferrara said some changes, like continued masking or cruise lines operating at half capacity, will only be temporary, while others – like improved hygiene protocols and looser cancellation and rebooking policies from airlines and other travel providers – will stay here. “It seems like a long-term change to me and I think this is excellent business for everyone.”

Koddi’s Ward agreed, predicting that the secure and “smooth” check-in protocols hotels, resorts and other accommodations have put in place during the pandemic will be a fundamental change, with providers focusing on updating technologies like smartphones Focus on apps.

“We are seeing that contactless check-in and mobile check-in are increasing very significantly,” he said. “It’s a net benefit for consumers and so can hotels.

“They want to – and in many cases need to – work much more efficiently,” said Ward, noting that it will take time for the accommodation staff to recover. Hence, technical abbreviations are crucial.

Interest in travel advice has increased

Igor Emmerich | Culture | Getty Images

Speaking of staff, Ferrara said the silver lining to the travel consultants – or travel agents as they were once again well known – pandemic was that they had stood the test of time for consumers. A profession that has suffered repeated blows since the turn of the century, from commission cuts to the advent of online booking engines. He finally had to prove he had the right stuff when Covid hit and the holidays were scrubbed en masse.

“We are here a year later and we see that some customers are still struggling to get their refunds,” Ferrara said. “A professional travel consultant will do all of this work for you, and often free of charge.”

When he founded InteleTravel in the early 1990s, travel consultants’ credibility fell “somewhere near used car dealers,” Ferrara said. But “consumers have learned the value of a professional travel advisor, especially when things are not going the way they want them to.”

“In my 30-plus year career, I’ve never seen such a high level of interest and confidence in travel agencies as I do now,” he added, noting that surveys have shown that two-thirds of potential travelers plan to use a travel agent for future travelers To travel.

Where you go?

Vrbo’s Top 5 Mobile US Travel Destinations for 2021

1. Broken Arch, Oklahoma
2. Boone, North Carolina
3. Naples, Florida
4. Miramar & Rosemary Beach, Florida
5. Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Source: The Vrbo Trend Report 2021

Look for continued interest in domestic travel, beach vacations, vacation home rentals, and bleisure trips that combine business travel and vacation – all trends that emerged during the pandemic. Another is the road trip.

In a recent survey by Erie Insurance, 51.2% of respondents said they are planning at least one road trip with their own vehicle this year, while another 30% would like to say so, but it depends on the state of the pandemic. Of those who will travel, 55% plan to drive more than 500 miles from home.

Hurst in Vrbo says local car trips will stay here. “The wanderlust of exploring the area has potentially lasting benefits, especially for the younger generations,” he said. “You won’t be in the air that much.

“It’s a different kind of economically sustainable travel and you can invest more in local communities and things that you may find a different kind of connectivity for.”

Grutzner agreed that “traveling with a purpose” is the trend. “We’re getting more questions now about what our company is doing to give something back.” (All 40 Travel Corporation brands have jointly founded the TreadRight Foundation, which supports 50 projects around the world dedicated to sustainable tourism and helping communities and the environment.)

Grutzner also expects a resurgence in interest in escorted vacations or group travel, although travelers may now prefer smaller allotments.

“We are careful and very selective about the hotels we stay in, the restaurants we eat and the places we go so we don’t put our guests at risk,” he said, adding, that Insights’ average tour includes fewer than 24 participants and Luxury Gold’s under 20 years of age. “I believe this will increasingly be something people will be looking for.”

Something they are also looking for or must have is travel insurance, especially for medical coverage outside of US borders. According to Grutzner, 85% of customers are now buying insurance, compared to 40% to 45% before Covid.

“I can tell you that everyone should buy travel insurance with every transaction,” Ferrara said. The fact that travel companies are easing penalties for change doesn’t mean vacationers shouldn’t have to worry. “You have to worry about getting flown somewhere where you trust the medical services,” he said. “And those bills – I’ve seen people make claims for a quarter of a million dollars.”

While today’s travelers will largely be vaccinated and insured, the travel sector itself will be healthier than it was before the pandemic, Hurst said.

“We’ll have a new muscle when it comes to … how … we hopefully deal with a much smaller version of it in the future,” he said. “I think we’re all better prepared. So I’m optimistic that such future events will be both smaller and less disruptive.”