Local travel agents say business on rebound
While many Americans may choose to travel by car to regional vacation destinations this summer because of the war with Iraq, terrorism and even the SARS epidemic, Joyce Peccon, owner of Joy Travel in Carmichaels is ready for some international sun. “I am flying to Mexico next week,” she said. “There are great incentives to travel right now.”
Peccon is not alone in her belief.
While local travel agents admit that business is down overall and has remained down since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, some agents are seeing a rebound, despite all the world turmoil.
“In the past week we have booked quite a few people for the Caribbean…but we are definitely not doing a lot of international flights,” said Rose McShane, owner and manager of Hollywood Travel in Belle Vernon. “We have a lot of repeat customers every year, and these people have all been waiting. It is not a fear of 9-11 anymore. They have just been waiting to see about the war.”
While McShane thinks the travel industry has never fully recovered from Sept. 11, she said she is maintaining business as usual and that special incentives from airlines and cruise-ship companies have never been better.
She recently had a couple who wanted to cancel their airline tickets for Las Vegas, an action that normally would result in a $100 penalty. McShane contacted Delta Airlines, and the penalty was waived. She said that many airlines and ticket-booking companies have adopted similar policies.
A report issued by the Air Transport Association trade group found domestic travel bookings for the next 60 to 90 days have fallen by 20 percent and international bookings have dropped by 40 percent. The lag in airline bookings caused by the terrorist attacks and ensuing wars has contributed to financial woes for carriers such as American Airlines, Delta and U.S. Airways.
Peccon said that while the headlines remain dominated by the threat of terrorism and deaths from the SARS disease, people still consider the Sept. 11 attacks a major deterrent to flying.
“People are questioning more. They are a little apprehensive,” she said. “People are afraid to fly. My mother, who has flown all over the world, is not flying. I don’t think we are going to fully recover from Sept. 11 for a long time.”
Jim Driscoll, president of Fay-West Travel in Connellsville, said that while airfares are down overall, things are rebounding, due in part to cheaper rates but also to travelers planning ahead and being prepared.
World travelers and domestic travelers alike, the agents said, have been paying much closer attention to travel advisories concerning the war and terrorism. Now with SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, spreading throughout Asia and cases being reported in Canada, travelers have one more thing to watch out for.
The U.S. State Department advised Americans last week to defer nonessential travel to China and Indonesia because of the disease, going so far as to authorize the departure of all its non-emergency employees and their family members from China.
Despite the new warnings, local travel agents said few travelers are inquiring about SARS, but that could change if the epidemic spreads.
Patty Putila, co-owner of Uniglobe Travel Horizons in Uniontown, said that while things like SARS are a detractor to international travel, domestic travel and cruises are moving pretty well because special packages are making the trips more convenient.
“We have a lot more people wanting to drive to Disney World or to cruises. Things are picking up,” she said.
Putila said that companies are cooperating by providing more accessible departure sites like Norfolk, Va., and Baltimore, Md., for cruises. Doing so allows motorists to reach their destinations much more quickly and without air travel, something Putila said is helping business. She said she expects domestic travel to be up this year, even as gasoline prices have risen dramatically since last year.
Despite reports by that the travel industry has lost 387,000 jobs since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Putila and other local agents are convinced that the industry is on the rebound.
And, Putila thinks there has never been a safer time to travel.
“They never used to do all the checks and screenings at the airport that they do now. It is probably safer to travel now than it ever was.”