Jamie Biesiada
The number of international travelers Avenues of the World Travel in Flagstaff, Ariz., serves today pales in comparison to the "before times" when Covid-19 wasn't an issue. But despite that downturn, CEO Monika Leuenberger is shifting to a tactic many advisors have found helpful in the pandemic: positioning her agency as a go-to for domestic travel.
Leuenberger and her advisors typically don't do much domestic travel for clients. They call Avenues of the World for international travel.
Some international trips are happening, Leuenberger said, but it's not exactly a trend.
News of the Covid-19 vaccine's effectiveness and rollout bolstered some clients. As Leuenberger said, "it seemed to change a lot of people's psyches," especially clients who are 65-plus and already have the vaccine or appointments to get them.
"It just gives them a huge boost in confidence that they can travel later this year," she said.
But in the meantime, she is positioning her agency as a go-to for domestic trips.
"We can book some really cool domestic travel," Leuenberger said. "We can do things that are socially distanced, if they want to go hiking in the mountains or go on a ski trip."
Leuenberger has had the most luck with ski trips, for which there has been client interest. But she and her three advisors are working on getting in touch with all of their clients, just to let them know if they're thinking domestic, they should think Avenues of the World.
"Any time you plant a seed, it takes a while before it sprouts," she said, but she is hopeful clients might take her up on road trips, national parks, itineraries focused on wineries or even a small-group trip for a travel bubble.
She's also targeting a new subset of potential clients: rafters. In Flagstaff, Leuenberger estimates a large portion of the population has probably already rafted in the Grand Canyon. They might not think to reach out to a travel advisor about rafting another river around the country. So she is working on a strategy to deliver her value proposition to that group, and hopefully drum up some bookings -- and future clients.
Leuenberger has also hopped on another popular strategy by personally leading a group trip. She has plans to take a group of 26 on a SeaDream Cruises yacht in May. Some have expressed concerns about recent testing and quarantine requirements for returning to the U.S. from abroad and have asked questions about what will happen.
"I tell them, 'Hey, listen, we have no idea. We don't know if countries will be open, we don't know if the ship will operate. But I can guarantee you, if that ship is operating, I will be on it,'" she said. "And I said if it doesn't operate, I will be here to help you get the credits. I haven't had a cancellation."