What Was the Top Travel Story of 2019?

Travel made headlines time and time again this year. Not just for those of us who follow the industry, but the general public was also swept up in travel industry news.

Travel Market Report asked advisors, agency owners and executives to pick their top travel stories of 2019 – and share their insights about how travel has been affected.

Grounded
There was an overwhelming response from advisors that the Boeing 737 MAX topped travel news in 2019. Tragic crashes, followed by groundings, and now the halting of production, mean the impact of this story will continue long into the future.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims of the crashes,” says Ken Stewart, owner of Crowfoot Travel, echoing many people with whom Travel Market Report spoke. “With that said, the resulting grounding of the planes left thousands immediately stranded, and this continues as the MAX 8 is still grounded and is already changing travel plans for those people well into the first four to six months of 2020. I am sure, one day, the MAX 8 will fly again, but until then, it is a challenge for the travel industry on both sides, and those people who just want to travel.”

“Long term, and most horrid, is the loss of life on ET 302 and the devastating loss to the families,” notes TravGroup’s Director Shapse Jakob. “Airlines have spent a tremendous amount of money chartering and replacing the 737 MAX legs. Short term, the grounding of the jet caused countless cancellations and delays, which impacted many of our travelers. Luckily, our team at TravGroup protected our clients on the next best possible flights. The true long-term impact, though, will hopefully increase airline and jet safety.”

Lynda Sinclair, Vision Travel’s vice president of leisure travel, says: “Grounding was a very busy time, with advisors having to double work on files to find new space and resell seats; and issues with group travel on those flights were hard to manage and find space. Frontline advisors take the brunt of the issues and they had a lot of explaining to do when there was very little information coming. The way the Canadian government handled it was not ideal. Now, stopping the production is an interesting twist in this story. I understand the confidence of the traveling public is not there and having to sell this aircraft will no longer be an issue … but what will they do with all the space that is needed for the marketplace? Those planes moved a lot of people.”

Robert Townshend, president of Total Advantage Travel & Tours, recalls: “The impact of the grounding was felt immediately across the travel industry. Travel agents were advised of hundreds of schedule change notices and had to have them relayed to their clients, sometimes with only hours of advance warning. Some traveler’s holidays were canceled outright, while others waited at airports for hours while airlines scrambled to get replacement aircraft. 

He continued: “It was the frontline industry people, the travel agents, that got all of the flack for these airline replacements. This grounding has been in place far too long. Agents are getting tired of blaming the still numerous schedule changes on the grounding of the 737 MAX. In March, it will be one year since the grounding took place. The length of this grounding brings serious concerns to the travel industry as well as the flying public. If this aircraft is allowed to fly again in the future, it will take years to take away the stigma of a year-long grounding.”

Some expressed appreciation for how members of the travel industry pulled together. “As far as the grounding of the MAX 8 series, I must commend our suppliers that were affected, in the way in which they have managed ongoing communication to the trade, as well as reallocated equipment to minimize the impact on the traveling public,” says Christine James, TL Network’s vice president, Canada.

But Carrie Hiebert, of Thompson Travel, points out that many questions remain. She said: “When does the MAX resume service and how will this impact the public? Can we sell the MAX confidently and will our passengers fly the MAX? We need to have the confidence of the industry to share with our passengers that safety is number one and the MAX is ready to fly.

A dark side to travel
Ginny Mariano, of Avanti World Travel, says her clients were also worried about political violence in 2019. “As much as we don’t like to talk about it, I think terrorism was a huge concern with clients when choosing a vacation destination this year,” she told Travel Market Report. “I do not think it deters clients from travel overall, but it has made them consider other destinations. For me, parts of Asia are down this year, as well as Israel/Jordan. But the UK, Spain and Portugal business has increased.”

You can’t travel here
You couldn’t, then you could, now you can’t again. The Trump administration restricted almost all non-family travel to Cuba, ending people-to-people travel. And although Canadian travelers are still free to visit the island, cruise itinerary changes, in particular, are affecting advisors and travelers in Canada, too.

“I think the top travel story for 2019 is the Cuba travel ban,” says Nancy Parker, with Preferred Travel Partners. “I feel it ranks top story in the news due to the massive impact on over 800,000 cruise passengers and 17 cruise lines that were affected. We may never know the true monetary impact on the cruise industry, since the cruise lines have been forced to amend itineraries and lower rates due to many passengers not wanting to sail to the same old ports.”

“Clients were looking forward to traveling to this ‘forbidden’ place,” agrees Janet Papilla, vice president of Boscov’s Travel. “Vendors, especially cruise lines, all deployed ships and bookings were strong. The sudden ban caused cancellations of a large amount of bookings, and cruise lines were left with a lot of empty cabins, as they had to change itineraries. Costly for everyone.”

That goes for advisors, as well. Michael Eichhorst, president of Expedia Cruise Ship Centers, pointed out, “The reversal of the ability to travel to Cuba was a significant impact, as the redeployment was far less commission for travel agents.”

But too many people travel here
On the flip side, 2019 was the year we could no longer stop denying some of the most popular travel destinations in the world were just too busy.

“The biggest story we felt in 2019 – for both our U.S. and Canadian luxury advisors was actually the same: overcrowding,” emphatically reports Michael Johnson, EVP of Travel Edge. “Our clients now have difficulty navigating the streets of Rome, Sydney, Venice and Rio, as so many people are converging on so few ‘hot spots.’ This is also being seen in cruise and the experiences around shore excursions. Port cities are experiencing crowds in unprecedented numbers – often with local resources ready to only cater to crowd sizes of the past.   

“These developments have forced our travel advisors to approach their clients’ itinerary planning more creatively, recommending off-peak excursions to roads less traveled – and having a deeper understanding and knowledge of elite local luxury resources and existing popular schedules (that they can book around) to keep creating truly unique experiences that change a client’s life.”

Deaths and disinformation
“In 2019, the top travel story for VIP Vacations was the media craze over the Dominican Republic,” says the company’s President Jennifer Doncsecz. “VIP spent at least two months assisting clients with moving or canceling their reservations. Although the FBI, in October, released official reports about the causes of the deaths that were reported in July, the FBI findings didn’t generate anywhere near the same media coverage — and even now, our travel advisors hesitate to suggest the Dominican Republic as an option because they then need to spend the time going over why the stories in July were not factual.”

But good news, too
“I am going to go with a positive story!” The Travel Agent Next Door’s Founder Flemming Friisdahl tells Travel Market Report. “The big trend is two things: Travel with purpose and travel companies limiting their environmental footprint. You have seen many vacations being offered that include some sort of giveback, either the entire vacation has been about giving back or a one day give-back day. It is great to see travelers making a positive impact in the communities they travel to. Also, you are seeing travel companies making less of an environmental impact, from eliminating straws, paper and disposable products. These changes are taking place worldwide.”

Travel advisors get more love
Many in the travel industry were pleasantly surprised how using a travel advisor was promoted in the public media in 2019.

“There have been numerous stories regarding the comeback of agents,” says a pleased John Schmitt, of Frankenmuth Travel Service and Grand Hill Travel. “This is reflective of the true value of agents and the frustration that self-bookers experience.”

Travel Leaders Group CEO Ninan Chacko even notes that the value advisors represent is now reflected in the terminology.

“2019 saw the widespread adoption of the term ‘travel advisor,’ following the American Society of Travel Agents’ name change to the American Society of Travel Advisors. This amplified the continued renaissance of the travel advisor and validated Phocuswright’s findings that travel agencies still book the majority of travel. Travel is more complicated than ever, which is why the world needs travel advisors who can help consumers save time and money, and make sure all travel planning is done right.”

Colton Chia, director of partnerships at TPI, agrees: “When booking online, consumers are missing out on some valuable points, the trust and support of putting your money and, most importantly, your time into the hands of a real person and not through a computer screen. Travel advisors add a human element to the process of booking a big trip and give you the confidence that your time and money are being taken care of. Having a personal relationship with a travel advisor will make the booking process and action of travel as smooth as possible, saving you time and stress.

“Travel advisors know what they are talking about and will only offer you the best of the best, while offering a personal opinion and connections to a supplier. Advisors have endless access to detailed supplier emails and promotions that consumers would not have access to online. We hope to see this trend continue to rise in the new year!”