Despite the news about some European countries opening up to U.S. travelers, according to a recent survey of 450 travel advisors, most have not yet seen an increase in travel bookings or inquiries related to Europe.
The research, part of TravelAge West’s Need to Know series, shows that 57% of respondents have not seen any increase in bookings or inquiries. In addition, 55% do not expect to have clients traveling to Europe at all this summer, with the majority expecting bookings to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 — 49% expect the summer of 2022, 18% in the first quarter of 2022 and 16% in the fall of 2022. Another 11% do not predict it to bounce back until 2023 or beyond.
Credit: 2021 TravelAge West
“I think we can expect travel to return as early as summer 2022 for some European destinations, such as Italy — which is always our top destination — as well as Spain, France and Portugal,” said Sandra Weinacht, president and co-founder of tour operator Inside Europe. “However, honestly, I wish it was a bit later. I fear the first big wave of travel coming back will be ‘rebound/revenge travel,’ where it is all about checking off bucket-list, big city destinations rather than more conscious [travel], taking the roads less traveled, [or] sustainability focused trips.”
For those advisors who do have clients visiting Europe, only 12% say that their customers are not making any adjustments in their travel plans due to COVID-19. Most advisors (78%) feel it is very important for their clients to see countries successfully manage their COVID-19 cases before they make plans to visit.
An important factor for advisors and clients is the flexibility of suppliers’ refund and cancellation policies: Nearly all (96%) agents say this is very important to them, and 95% say it is also very important to their customers. In addition, a majority of advisors (54%) say strict pandemic protocols are very important to clients, with another 37% saying they are somewhat important.
Credit: 2021 TravelAge West“It is extremely important for everyone — advisors, consumers and suppliers — to work with people that have strict plans in place,” Weinacht said. “Just as it was always important to work with people who had good safety protocols in place, we’ve learned since the pandemic that those people who didn’t have good plans are generally also less able to deal with changing situations. You should always feel safe when you travel.”
Vaccinations are also a key factor for most advisors. Two-thirds (66%) of respondents say that more than half of their clients are likely to be vaccinated by this summer, and another 23% expect that all their clients will be vaccinated.
Credit: 2021 TravelAge West“I work with a lot of families and groups of younger travelers, so it’s a little different for us,” Weinacht said. “My friends are all getting vaccinated and traveling, but in our business, we’re seeing families that are waiting until the whole family can be vaccinated before they start making plans. That just opened up for all ages, so we’ll see.”
Overall, advisors are somewhat split on the current booking window for their clients. About two-thirds of respondents (62%) say that the booking window is either much or somewhat longer than previous years, while another third (34%) say it is much or somewhat shorter.
Need to Know Survey Series
“Need to Know” is a research series from TravelAge West that tracks the responses of advisors as they relate to various travel trends and topics. This survey recorded the responses of 449 advisors across the U.S. Click here to see more Need to Know stories.
