Health & Wealth in Travel—a Devastating Impact but All is Not Lost!
By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
It is a really rough time for our travel industry. The lock down and countries closing their borders is unlike anything we have ever seen in my 70 year lifetime. It will rebound but no one really knows when it will rebound. This blog is about confidence and why you should be confident about the future of travel.
Before I start, it would be insensitive to not recognize that leisure travel is discretionary spending; we are in exceptionally tough economic times; but still please recognize that of the current 22 million in the U.S. unemployed, over 8 million are in the travel industry—yes over 36% of the workforce!
But I have to get the bad news out first before building your confidence back. There is just no sugar-coating the truth about the woes of the travel industry right now, in late April 2020.
I’m going to provide you some alarming statistics that currently spell doom and gloom to show the magnitude of what is happening to the travel industry. At first glance, you could interpret these as the demise of much of the travel industry, but the truth it is only a lull—travel opportunities will return and most of us will be glad and hope it is sooner than later.
There are a lot of anxious folks in the United States—health, the economy and isolation from social distancing are all concerns.
But, believe me, all is not lost. Travel will return, maybe with some differences, but it will be back. My guess is it will return starting in this fall and be reasonably strong in 2021 with some (or maybe even a lot) pent up demand and postponed trips driving the train.
Confidence must return first—you need assurances you will be safe when you travel.
This week, we will help you get your confidence back—let’s start by defining exactly what travel confidence is and then take the next step by defining travel confidence through dreaming and thinking about why you want to travel. Then 10 prudent steps to determine if you are ready to travel and how to best protect yourself during travel planning and travel in our new reality.
And, finally, when the time is right, why you should use us to plan your travels.
So, this week, I’d like to write about how to get your travel confidence back.
First, Some Tough Statistics for the Travel Industry
8 million out of work in the U.S. travel industry by the end of April (source Oxford Economics impact analysis of COVID-19).
4 million will be out of work in U.S. hotel industry (source American Hotel & Lodging Association and Forbes).
95% decrease in air passenger traffic in the U.S. (source TSA passenger screening counts comparing to present counts and 2019 screening counts).
50% of the world’s aircraft grounded (source analysts at Cowan Bank in a CNN interview).
$80 Billion lost tax revenue to the U.S. government (source U.S. Travel Association).
$314 Billion lost revenue to airlines worldwide—a 55% drop from 2019 (source IATA—International Air Transportation Association).
$1.6 Billion lost each day by the airlines worldwide (source IBIS World market research).
15.8 Million American jobs at risk, directly or indirectly in the travel sector (source U.S. Travel Association).
96% worldwide destinations are closed. They have completely or partially closed their borders to tourists (source United Nations World Tourism Organization).
These are just staggering statistics and just highlight how import travel is to the U.S. economy and the world. But it is my belief, the worst will be over in less than 3 months. Recovery may be slow but it will be steady and things will improve.
What Exactly is Travel Confidence?
Oxford Dictionary defines confidence in part as “firm belief that one can rely on someone, firm trust”; and, “the state about feeling certain about the truth of something”.
More than ever, I am strong believer that the right travel providers will be the key to the return of safe travel and will lead us out of the current mess.
It is my feeling that most just are not confident about safe travel right now, so let’s examine that further.
All humans have needs. Perhaps, the best known description of the needs, is the famous Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory. It is a pyramid where 5 needs are identified. The most basic needs are at the base of the pyramid.
Despite disagreements about the accuracy of the model to describe our human behavior, most folks recognize that lower level needs need to be satisfied in some way to just survive. The lowest 2 levels, our basic physiological needs (food, shelter, etc.) on the first level is then just one rung above is safety.
Believe me, I am not anything close to a behavioral expert, but I know a thing or two about travel behavior. We need assurance our travel will not only be rewarding but also safe. And, there is an emotional loss here also—a great trip we have been anticipating just has suddenly been lost or postponed through no fault of our own—it just takes a toll on us—it is only human nature, and, trust me we feel your pain!
For confidence to return, we will need to know that there will be both 1) enough wealth (money) to pay for our desired trips and 2) it will be safe enough conditions to allow us to experience the wonders of travel again.
Some of us will have to wait for a while to regain enough confidence—if it is only safety concerns about travel, your wait will probably be shorter than those with money concerns.
But confidence will return. Medical folks at some point will come up with methods to deal with this problem, travel suppliers will strengthen their preventative measures and the travel industry will improve to provide you better, safer trips.
Travel Dreams
Do you want to dream about great destinations? We all do, I’m sure. There are so many benefits of travel that make folks want to go experience different places. Humans are curious, they like learning about others—their culture, their food, their living conditions, the cities and countryside’s they live in, and they way of living.
I would encourage you to start thinking about why you have traveled in the past and what you want to see in the future. The future is really about hope and travel should be part of this recovery plan.
In troubled times, I think we can’t help but think about what is really important to you. As you read this, we were planning to be in Europe, celebrating Anne’s birthday. We will still celebrate here at our home, but already we want to get back to normal and see our favorite places in Europe.
We have plenty of travel dreams—I hope you do too. We will be there to help when the time is right.
Here is a unique example of a travel dream that might be more meaningful due to the current pandemic. From times of troubles in the past, you can learn a little about how people handled infectious diseases in some our favorite places in Europe when travel resumes.
Isolation to prevent disease is not a new idea. Both Venice and Dubrovnik (it was known then as Ragusa) used quarantine for incoming ships in the early Middle Ages (1300s-1400s) by putting them in “quarantino” (Italian for 40 days). The big problem then was the plague or “Black Death.” There are also numerous plague monuments throughout Europe also—perhaps a little bit more of interest after present events in the world.
North Gate Dubrovnik, Croatia
South Harbor of the Old City Dubrovink
The Arrow points to the Lazaretto Complex where sailors were quarantined prior to be allowed in the Old City of Dubrovink
What it must have looked like when the ship and sailors were finally allowed in from quarantine
Plague Monument, Fisherman’s Bastion, Buda side of Budapest
The lesson here is that the world has faced these health problems before and survived them. But then, as now, there was a lot of suffering and sadly death. Each generation tries to make life better and we will succeed.
Again, please remember that the future is really about hope and travel should be part of this recovery plan.
10 Prudent Steps to Get Your Confidence Back to Travel Safely in the Future
We hope that some of these steps you were already doing as savvy travel folks, but if you haven’t, now is the time to implement these 10 steps.
1. Travel Suppliers are facing daunting challenges right now but those with enough money resources and are efficient operations will survive and do well. More than ever, your choice of the right vendor is essential.
2. Don’t go it alone or try to use on-line travel agencies. Many have found a real live person can respond or will respond—the horror stories of the fall out of cancelled trips just has reaffirmed our profession. Again buyer beware—use the right person who matches your travel ideas and styles.
3. Always use a credit card unless you know exactly why another form of payment must be used. The only time we have resorted to wire transfers or check payments is with vendors who have a sterling reputation.
4. Buy travel insurance but know exactly what you are trying to protect. Look for exclusions that may render the policy useless to you. Supplier travel insurance that is offered by a third party supplier must be carefully examined.
5. Take a hard look at penalties, cancellation fees and supplier cancellation policies (often called contract of carriage). Recent events have made this once usually glossed over detail, really, really important now.
6. Review the safety measures all the vendors have added to their products. Realistically assess your risk. We will be glad to help here.
7. Review the risks of the places you want to see. Again, realistically asses your risk along with any travel advisories and warnings. I guess, it goes without saying, we can help here also.
8. Let’s recognize and thank the folks who clean our rooms, prepare and deliver our meals, help to protect us during our travels whether as a captain, pilot, cruise director, travel guide, housekeeper, waiter, and others—the front lines are the folks who will ultimately ensure our safety. Maybe give them better tips when it is appropriate.
9. Don’t deny your dreams for fear—address the problems, assess the risk and then take a leap of faith when the time is right—don’t worry, we again have your back.
10. If you have cancelled plans, carefully consider a future travel credit versus a refund. There is no right answer here for all. We are available to advise you on the advantages and disadvantages of your options. Many vendors are providing increased benefits if you take the waiver. Any refunds will take time to process (if even available) and there are some disputes ongoing right now, to include legal action against some vendors.
We Are the Right Folks to Plan your Next Travels
Here is what you can expect from us:
· We design vacations that match your travel style
· We will help you reach your Dream Destinations
· We are your Travel Solution and Inspiration
We have 24+ years as a full service travel agency. We like to say we are small enough to give you personalized service, yet big and experienced enough to get you the right trip.
We are financially and emotionally strong enough to see this crisis to the end and be there when the time is right—also, we like to say, “Thanks for your Trust in Us!” We will be there when you are ready.
Our knowledge of Europe river cruises and Europe travel is exceptional. We have been on 18 Europe river cruises, written over 60 blogs about all aspects of Europe river cruises, have 3 items on the first page of Google, we have 51 port guides (they are free) for you, and we have help dozens enjoy river cruising in Europe. And if that we not enough, we have 50 free guides to most Europe Cities you might want to visit before or after your Europe river cruise.
My Final Thoughts
Wow!—what a strange time we are in right now! Travel confidence will return slowly but travel will be better than before, maybe just a little different. We want to earn that trust from you to use us for your vacation needs—start with your dreams first—when travel starts up again, we will make your dreams reality.
We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise experts, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations. As you can see, our full service agency can get you to almost anywhere you desire to travel and provide you a great experience and vacation.
When you are spending your hard earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience.
Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 48+ years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent
