The Article below was published in Vol. 136, Issue 8 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on April 30, 2021.
By Adam Hartzer ’23
Managing Editor and Layout Editor
COVID-19 vaccines are here and travelers are not only looking to get back to their pre-pandemic lifestyles, but they are ready for an escape: an escape and to enjoy their long-awaited vacations. With the cancelled and rebooked trips of 2020 now in the past, how does the travel and tourism industry look in 2021?
According to a survey conducted by financial analysts at IPX1031, nearly half of Americans feel optimistic about traveling and resuming vacations this year, with the number increasing to 74 percent of individuals saying they would feel comfortable flying after receiving the vaccine.
As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues, certified travel advisor of Q Cruise + Travel Karen Stang Hanley says she has started to see new vacation bookings as of the last couple of weeks.
“It’s like the light has turned from red to green,” Stang Hanley says. “People feel more confident in what the future will look like.”
Many people have used the pandemic period to reflect on their life goals and review their bucket-list destinations. Stang Hanley says travelers are ready to embark on their next adventure and truly embrace carpe diem, especially after being isolated for the majority of the past year. “They know how quickly things can change…in a way that no one really envisioned a year ago,” she adds.
Kathryn Schutz, travel advisor with Kathryn Theodore Travel Advisors, agrees with Stang Hanley and is finding clients are eager to not only book their next trip but to book it soon. This spring, for example, many clients were spontaneously booking trips two days out, according to Schutz. In other cases, such as booking world cruises, Schutz says they’re selling out within a day the bookings open. “We’ve never seen this,” Schutz says. “There is so much demand out there.”
Travelers are ready to travel and are aggressively booking and rebooking their scheduled trips. Postponed or un-celebrated weddings, reunions, graduations, and other milestones have occurred over the past year and many are anxiously awaiting to finally celebrate and embark on their planned trip.
“I’ve had honeymoons moved. They’re literally on their third set of dates,” Stang Hanley says.
Meeting this pent-up demand is predicted to continue trending upwards as more people become vaccinated and feel safe to travel, according to Chicago’s destination marketing organization Choose Chicago’s senior economist of research and analysis David Czechowski.
“Most of the indicators from the national travel sentiment surveys continue to suggest an upward trend,” Czechowski adds.
To continue practicing the safety and sanitization procedures that were first introduced at the onset of the pandemic, destinations are keeping many of their existing systems to ensure guest safety post-pandemic.
Czechowski predicts the summer season will consist of a different mode of outdoor dining for which restaurants are currently recalibrating. In other cases, hybrid meetings for business travel will continue to remain popular as social distancing and mask wearing practices remain in place.
“The cleanliness and sanitization will stay, and that’s not a bad thing,” Schutz says.
Observing the changes that occurred from the pandemic, both travelers and destinations emerged with greater flexibility. However, there are still some levels of inconsistency that complicate international travel as experts continue to advise on safe, responsible traveling.
“Travel has become very complicated,” Schutz says. “It’s all over the board.” Schutz is referencing the various travel restrictions and policies that are implemented from different countries. “There should be a standard,” Schutz adds.
To compensate for these complications, destinations and airlines have become easier to work with. “We’ve seen cancellation policies greatly decrease the time period with a lot of forgiveness,” Schutz notes.
Stang Hanley also hopes the absence of the airlines change fees will stay for some time. “We really welcome that as it’s given travelers a lot of flexibility and a lot of confidence in their travels,” Stang Hanley says.
With the many changes influenced by the pandemic and as the vaccine rollout and distribution efforts continue, travelers and destinations alike are eager to experience a new era of thoughtful and innovative tourism.
