By Martin Owen
I suggested last month that travel and tourism would experience changes as a result of the pandemic. Since then, I’ve done some traveling myself and also picked up on some news from airlines and hospitality companies that all show that those changes are happening faster than at first suggested.
Locally, the tourism organizations are reporting that the peak, summer season has lasted longer than normal extending well into October. Remember that in the past the summer season here on the Northern Gulf Coast ended around August when the schools resumed. Well, a combination of factors has extended the season from spring until just before Halloween. Also interesting is that while occupancy has held up well, so have rates which means that accommodation providers have not had to discount. That of course is good news for local economies and for providing year-round jobs rather than just seasonal positions. Forward projections are that while the winter Snow Birds may be fewer than in the past, they may well be replaced by people who can work from anywhere and choose to work here in warmer weather than where they normally live. Also, many tourists from the north of the country are inclined to have early spring vacations.
Airlines in the USA are also seeing a move in how travelers are booking. Pre pandemic, first and business class on domestic carriers were really the preserve of people traveling for work and funded by their employers – the business travelers and frequent flyers. Now it appears that many of those ‘front of the plane’ seats are being taken by leisure travelers. Suggestions are that people traveling for enjoyment (as opposed to work) want to have a comfortable experience rather than being crammed into sardine class at the back of the jet. Those Boomers with time on their hands and money or air miles in the bank, want to travel again. Good news for the airlines who are not seeing the regular business travelers return as fast as they’d like.
As I write this, the news is that the USA is opening its borders to overseas leisure travelers from November 8. Advance bookings on both the US airline and their foreign competitors are very strong. For November, Orlando Airport alone is expecting 1055 flights with more than 140,000 passengers from international originating points. Despite somewhat confusing vaccination rules in some countries, travelers are insistent on starting up their vacation plans again.
This is a transition period for travel as much of the world moves from a pandemic to endemic virus conditions. Of course, there is a long way to go and some countries are a good way from relaxing rules, but there are rays of brightness for the US tourism and hospitality industry.
My own travel? Well, we flew to Colorado and experienced a train trip through Colorado and Utah on The Rocky Mountaineer. This is a Canadian company that has been running tourist train trips through the Canadian Rockies for years and have now expanded in the USA. In their first season here, it’s proved a very impressive experience, especially for those who like train travel. It was our first trip since Covid that involved air and train travel. I have to say it all went swimmingly. We experience no hold ups and saw none of the ‘air rage’ incidents that the press is so happy to report. Everyone we traveled with appeared sensible and considerate to both their fellow travelers and those in the hospitality and travel industries tasked with looking after them and keeping them safe. Was it like a pre pandemic experience? No, but it was certainly enjoyable and I did feel that the vast majority of my fellow travelers had a good and sympathetic attitude. Those in the industry certainly are doing their best to make our tourism lives as easy and enjoyable as possible.
Thanksgiving is coming up so may I be among the first to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving holiday.
