Travelers globally are already looking to travel advisors more frequently - or will do so in the future - as travel becomes more complex in the wake of the pandemic, according to panelists on a virtual forum organized by the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) and featuring representatives from global trade associations from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Europe and the Caribbean.
Recent ASTA research has shown that many potential travelers who had never used a travel advisor before were now more likely to do so because travel has become too complex to navigate on their own.
Graeme Buck, director of communications for the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), said that with overall business so much lower, it's hard to separate the current use of advisors from the low demand for travel. However, he added, an association survey showed 25% of respondents were more likely to use advisors in the future for reasons of security and expertise.
In Canada, said Wendy Paradis, president of the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA), there is tremendous pent-up demand for travel and more than 30% of Canadians now say they are more likely to use a travel advisor. One reason, she said, is that Canadians are more safety-oriented and want to know exactly what safety protocols are - at the airport, on the plane, at the destination - and even down to the resort, hotel or cruise ship.
Using a professional, she said, "is now more valuable than ever because there are so many more questions." She said that in the past an advisor would speak to a client two or three times before a trip and now that might be 10 or 15 times - even if they are not traveling until February of next year.
Trust, said Vanessa Ledesma, acting CEO of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), is now one of the most sought out critical components for travelers, particularly around health and safety. Having an experienced and knowledgeable individual, she said, is now critical. Ledesma said the association launched a partnership with ASTA because "we thought it would be better at this time to have strong relationships with advisors."
Although he said it is difficult to say how much people are looking to advisors because there is so much less travel, Eric Drsin, secretary-general of the European Travel Agents and Tour Operators Association (ECTAA), did say there is certainly a demand for expertise and advisors are "the right people to answer questions." He said that the situation is so complicated in Europe that even industry professionals sometimes find it difficult to be informed of constant change and for consumers, it is a challenging task to deal with "this ocean of information."
Panelists also talked about what those in the industry can do to effect change.
Zane Kerby, CEO of ASTA, said that industry members have to lean on their governments. "We are less visible than sectors like airlines and hotels that have customers who show up in person," Kerby said. Travel advisors, he said, need to be just as visible and vocal as those with "more mindshare of the economy."
He said advisors do have strength in numbers with 1900 members currently contacting Congress members about retaining the employee retention tax credit (ERTC). Kerby also said advisors have to "cozy up to customers," staying in touch with them because "they are desperate to get back out and see the world."
Advisors, said Paradis, have to ask their governments to follow the science and data when it comes to vaccinations and to work with counterparts around the world to ensure there is consistency around policies. "We need to get our act together," she said, "and follow the science - perhaps through the World Health Organization - so we can stop this daily change of rules."
There have to be, she said, standard protocols based on reasonable data. With a federal election coming up in Canada, said Paradis, ACTA is asking those in the industry to use their votes to ensure that Canadians "can be mobile again so that the travel industry can survive."
The more consistency across borders, the better, Buck noted. He said the easier that rules and regulations are to understand, the more people will travel.
Panelists also said the role of the media is key with "headlines" doing significant damage to consumer confidence and to the desire to book travel. "Headlines do matter," said Kerby,. He pointed to the situation in the Netherlands which recently mandated quarantines for both vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers.
Although only the Netherlands and Sweden are currently imposing tight restrictions against U.S. travelers, he said, headlines often suggest that Americans can't travel to Europe. Over the summer, he said, bookings went from "crazy" to a proliferation of postponements and cancellations because of media attention.
"We need the media," said Kerby, 'to pressure public officials to make changes; they need to show some courage." For instance, he said, the U.S. should immediately reciprocate with Canada and accept vaccinated Canadian visitors. Canada has allowed vaccinated Americans to visit that country since August.
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