Travel has been one of the industries hardest hit by COVID-19. As avid business and leisure travellers, it’s felt quite strange being grounded at home for the past four months. But things are starting to open up. While most of us are opting for staycations and Zoom meetings for business for the foreseeable future, travel and tourism companies are beginning to try to lure us back. So, what should we know about travelling right now?

I talked to Linda Burndorfer, owner of Winnipeg-based Out ‘N About Travel to get answers to some of my questions. Here’s our exchange:

Who is travelling right now, and where are they going?

Right now, as you know, not many are travelling with the provincial and global restrictions in place. We do have a few essential services clients who are allowed to travel – specifically workers in the mining sector who have to maintain worksites even though mines are shut down right now. We also have a handful of corporate travellers and very few leisure travellers.  We are, however, getting more enquiries as the provincial borders open up for people who want to visit family within Canada.

For those who have been travelling, what do they say it’s been like to fly right now?

From what we’ve heard, it’s a pretty desolate experience—previously bustling airports in Palm Springs, Winnipeg, and Calgary look like ghost towns. There are few shops open and little to no staff. On the upside, there are no lineups!

I’m getting emails from Air Canada about deals on flights for international destinations, does that mean I can travel to those places with no hassle? There seems to be a disconnect from what we’re hearing from government leaders and health officials vs. travel advertisers.

Airlines have been decimated financially by the pandemic, so they’re looking to promote destinations where possible. That doesn’t mean you can travel wherever you want right now. Globally, there are many restrictions for Canadians travelling abroad. Some countries have mandatory 14-day self-quarantine requirements upon arrival and others, like the UK, also require those crossing their borders to complete a Public Health Passenger Locator Form, which travellers must present upon arrival.

The Canadian government is advising against all unnecessary travel right now. That doesn’t mean you can’t travel, but if you choose to it presents difficulties such as insurance coverage or repatriation if a country has to close its borders due to rising COVID-19 cases. Each country has its own restrictions and they can change from day to day. If you need or want to plan a trip right now, engaging a travel professional is the best advice.

I’m seeing online commentary and news articles about business travel never coming back to before pre-pandemic levels. What’s your take on that and what kind of business travel do you see coming back first?

You know we have been down this road before with 9/11, SARS and other world events that have happened, travel has always bounced back and in greater numbers. This pandemic, though, is so much bigger than the rest of these events combined and some companies will obviously change the way they do business and may not travel as much.

Having said that, so many sectors need face-to-face human interactions to remain viable. The arts industry, for example, needs to get to festivals to showcase their music or comedy. Film production can’t happen over Zoom. Many universities rely on recruiters to go abroad to promote studying in Canada to international students. There are also fields of study that depend on travel as well as student exchange programs. In manufacturing, salespeople want to meet company executives to demonstrate their latest machinery or product. In agriculture, we have seed farmers that travel globally to other farms that they want to sell to. Aside from all of the industry needs, there are many people whose lives are enriched by travel who are eager to get back to it.

We’re certainly eager to travel internationally in the near future, but one of our concerns is health insurance. To your knowledge, does anyone offer coverage for hospital care due to contracting COVID abroad?

To my knowledge, no. that’s because the government issued an advisory not to travel right now – once that lifts some Insurance companies may cover COVID-related conditions, I know a few that will. This is another instance where consulting with a travel professional is the best course because so much of this is changing all the time.

What’s your opinion on Airbnb vs hotels in light of COVID-19? 

Good question! The concern I have with Airbnb is being confident about the safety protocols are they following? These are owner-operated properties, so although Airbnb has set regulations, it’s hard to be sure they are being enforced.  A brand name hotel, on the other hand, will have many safety protocols in place to make sure proper sanitation occurs in guest rooms as well as all public areas, and that social distancing is enforced. Many also use apps to do check in, access your room, and to order room service.  For now, I’d say you have to know what your risk tolerance is in light of your personal situation.

As a travel professional that I follow on social media, I know you travel frequently. How have you personally been coping with being grounded due to emergency health measures? Also, where do you think your first out-of-province trip will be and why?

I’ve always told my wife Lynne that I would love to have a stay vacay – spend two weeks at home just to putter around and get a few things done. It’s going on FOUR MONTHS NOW – NOT QUITE WHAT I WAS ASKING FOR.  Okay, I got that off my chest – lol.

Seriously, I am worried about the travel industry – so many businesses have been hit hard and some won’t make it. Many are starting to open their doors to their customers whether it be for a haircut, a workout at a gym, or a pizza and beer on a restaurant patio. That’s good news, but the reality for the travel business is that we will be one of the last to see clients return.  Nothing short of a vaccine is going to get the confidence of our clients back again soon. Otherwise, it will be a very slow return with many protocols is place and nothing like we had before.

As for personal travel, I’d love to go back to Alberta. We visited last year in July for a family reunion. There were so many international tourists, which is great, but we couldn’t get to the places we wanted to see because they were full. Yeah, I’d say getting back to Banff and into the Okanagan is high on our list.

Out ‘N About Travel is a boutique travel agency specializing in all aspects of travel from corporate or business, to personal and vacation. Our team will help you create travel experiences that you will remember for a lifetime! We are your Winnipeg travel agency partner!

 
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