Richard Turen
It happened again. The lead story in my morning news feed stopped me in my tracks. (Well, actually, it caused me to put down my Starbucks.)
Advisors have been feeling really optimistic of late: Polls show that a majority of travel professionals now view their business as being on a forward trajectory. Most of us had a terrific 2023 as we continued our emergence from Covid with a renewed sense of purpose. Relatives no longer flinch and lower their heads when kin inform them that they will be entering our profession. Our clients are traveling more often, and average spend is significantly higher. The length of vacations is increasing, and large families are hitting the road together once again.
So when I saw this headline, it made me pause: "Tourists lose control as 2023 hits new peak following years of lockdowns, restrictions."
I started reading because I was unaware that any of our clients, or yours, were "losing control." If they were, I think we might have heard something about it.
The story went on to explain that "the glamour of travel" brought with it "some ugliness."
Really? Have we missed this major news story at Travel Weekly? In fairness, the article went on to "prove" the point by example. Here are a few of the examples these professional news reporters used to prove that our clients, American travelers, are "losing control" when they travel:
- A "massive brawl" broke out on a popular tourist street in the Catalonian city of Sitges. At least one barstool was involved.
- An American tourist using a "'Ghostbusters'-style weed blower" blew marijuana smoke at a crowd on a busy street in Phuket, Thailand.
- A tourist visiting Yellowstone "got the scare of her life" while trying to take a selfie as she reached out to pet a bison. He got upset and snagged her sweater.
- A tourist ran up the steps of the Kukulkan pyramid in Mexico's Chichen Itza site. That is a no-no, so a bystander attacked the tourist with a stick.
So what effect did this "reporting" have on readers of the story? This was rather typical of the comments: "Haven't been on a plane since 2001, and I have no future plans for air travel or long car excursions either. Everything I need is right here at home within 30 miles."
This was the lead story aggregated for presentation in my daily feed. So you might be wondering what sort of obscure app created it?
Well here's a hint. I had received another piece of reporting from the same source at the top of my news feed just three months earlier headlined "More than half of world's countries post heightened risks for American travelers."
The piece used the State Department's "worldwide caution" in light of the Israel-Hamas war for its context. This piece generated a wide number of responses, but my favorite was "... there should be a BAN on travel to most if not all of these countries. If not, we will end up trying to rescue the ones that aren't killed."
These two headlines did not come from an app. They were reported by the Fox News Channel, which just marked its eighth consecutive year as the nation's highest-rated cable news network.
It may just be that when it comes to advocating that our clients see a bit of this planet we all share, our positive collective voice is now needed more than ever.