Jamie Biesiada
The war in Ukraine is already affecting travel.
Tour operators are canceling trips there and in Russia, and cruise lines are doing the same. War, combined with soaring oil prices, is causing a wildly fluctuating stock market.
But for travel advisors, so far, the impacts have been minimal. Clients are asking about the situation, but for the most part, many are keeping Europe trips on the books (the one exception here is Eastern Europe and the countries immediately surrounding Ukraine).
With that in mind, what's the best way to talk to clients about the unfolding situation?
I asked Tiffany Hines, CEO of Global Escapes, how she's doing just that.
"It's kind of like everything we've had to navigate the last couple of years," she said. "It's, 'Let's keep an eye on things. Let's see how things go.' You can make decisions today based on the information you have today. It's really situational."
When it comes to traveling in general today, Hines said, the conversation more surrounds whatever the client feels comfortable with.
It's also about setting expectations, she said. Many hospitality-related companies are still trying to ramp up as they recover from the pandemic and are dealing with staffing shortages and service that isn't as fast as it once was. In some cases, employees are still training.
It's important to have those conversations, both about comfort levels and expectations, especially in today's climate, Hines said.
But even if the situation in Ukraine were to expand beyond the country's borders, Hines is confident Global Escapes will send clients on trips, just elsewhere -- perhaps to Alaska or the Caribbean or South America.
"Any of us in travel know that it seems like there's always something going on somewhere," she said. "So, it's just a matter of navigating around that."
Spring break bookings are up
On a completely different note, agents have likely already been busy planning spring break travel, and it's shaping up to be a busy season.
According to Allianz Partners, spring break bookings for 2022 are up 134% over 2021.
Allianz analyzed 4.1 million flight itineraries of trips between five and eight days between Feb. 18 and April 18 to determine spring break travel rates.
The majority, 81%, will travel domestically, where warm-weather locations rule. Orlando is again the top city, followed by Phoenix; Las Vegas; Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale; New York; Miami; Fort Myers, Fla.; Salt Lake City; and Tampa.
Internationally, three destinations in Mexico make up the top three spots, as they did last year: Cancun, San Jose del Cabo and Puerto Vallarta. Rounding out the top 10 are, in order, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; Aruba; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nassau; Providenciales, Turks and Caicos; Liberia, Costa Rica; and London.