Eliza Reid wasted no time booking her first international vacation in years when the federal government announced its timetable for the reopening of Australia’s border.
Key points:
- There has been an increase in holiday bookings, but departures from Australia are far from pre-pandemic levels
- Hesitation has changed the way we travel, with shorter delivery times between bookings and departures.
- Travel navigation following COVID-19 restrictions has sparked renewed interest in travel agencies
The 30-year-old was optimistic and took into account visits to the UK, Morocco, France and Spain on her trip.
“We would have liked to travel earlier, but I thought by mid-2022 it would be the safest,” Ms. Reid said.
“We were pretty sure the confinement wouldn’t happen again and things were only going to get better.”
Mrs. Reid had to consider a few additional checks before the departure of what she would have had before the pandemic.
He used the federal government’s Smart Traveler website to check the COVID-19 requirements of each of his destinations and carefully chose his flights, accommodation and travel insurance to make sure he would be covered if he contracted the virus on his journey.
“Trips have definitely changed, but if you like to travel, it’s worth the extra work,” he said.
Mrs Reid’s decision to book the trip herself seven months before her departure date was common before the pandemic, but there are indications that COVID-19 has significantly altered the way most Australians travel.
The hesitation of travelers sees a “renaissance” for travel agents
Dean Long says there has been an increase in the number of people using a travel agency for the first time. (Supplied by: AFTA)
Executive Director of the Federation of Travel Agents of Australia Dean Long said persistent concerns that COVID-19 restrictions could re-emerge were behind a major change in the way people plan his travels.
“The window people used to book was about 120 days, up to 170 [days] for the international travel of Australians, ”he said.
“It simply came to our notice then [days]. “
“Generally, for your short trips to Southeast Asia or domestic, you’re looking at a 7 to 14 day booking window and this is the shortest one that has probably been in the last 30 or 40 years.”
Long said travel agencies had reported a strong recovery in business travel, with national reserves rising 74% from the 2021 lows.
However, international travel has had the strongest return, with airline ticket sales rising 404 percent and 16 percent of all new inquiries to travel agents from people who had not used them. none in the two years before the pandemic.
Long said the hesitation in travel was driving many people to a travel agency because they were looking for help navigating the new world of travel.
He said officers were seeing a “renaissance,” with people worried about meeting the various entry and exit requirements, including pre- and post-departure testing, as well as minimum levels of insurance coverage for expenses. COVID-19.
“They’re really looking forward to learning first-hand experiences of what the terrain is like right now,” he said.
Investigate the key to traveling with confidence
The Australian Insurance Council said travel insurance policies would never include coverage for government-enforced border closures or travel bans because it would make coverage inaccessible.
He added that many policies would not cover cruise ships either, but that many cruise companies offered free coverage as an incentive to get people back into the water.
More Australians are willing to book a trip abroad, although travel insurance does not cover border closures. (Provided by: Matt Brown)
However, industry experts say there are other ways to regain confidence to travel and make sure the COVID-19 does not ruin hard-earned vacations.
In Mrs. Reid’s case, she made plans that could be changed if necessary.
“We made sure all our flights and accommodation bookings were refundable or flexible, so that if something happened, we could move things around,” he said.
His advice is backed by CHOICE travel specialist Jodi Bird, who says research is the key to choosing accommodation and transportation that people trust will provide credit or a refund if travel is suddenly restricted.
“We know, for example, with Australian domestic airlines, if you make a domestic reservation, they no longer cover national travel bans, but for now, they still cover if there is a travel ban internationally,” he said. dit.
Mr. Bird warned that travelers using an agent should not automatically accept the insurance policy suggested to them.
“Before you go and take out travel insurance, we recommend you maybe go home and do some research,” he said.
“You may be able to get better or cheaper coverage elsewhere.”
He said there were a growing number of complaints about travel insurance claims.
“I think a lot of the travel insurers are still struggling with the most claims and they’re also trying to step back and enforce the gaps in their coverage, to make people really jump through those gaps, so you, as to a consumer, you really need to understand what you are [being] covered by “.
Long way to go back to pre-pandemic travel levels
Although traffic through travel agencies has been increasing every month, Long said there was still a long way to go.
Travel figures are still very low in early 2019. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
About one million Australians were shipped overseas each month before COVID-19, but the most recent official data available to the industry showed that there were only 375,000 departures in March 2022.
“What will be interesting will be how that starts to change towards the end of this year,” Long said.
“If we can return to a booking window of more than 60 days and suppliers continue to have very good refund and cancellation policies due to COVID, this will be essential to regain consumer confidence.”
Eliza Reid booked her trip months in advance, once restrictions began to lift. (Offer: Eliza Reid)
For Mrs. Reid, who has begun her journey abroad, it was an incredible feeling to re-explore the world.
“COVID cases are much lower in the countries we travel to, compared to Australia, so it’s comforting,” he said.
“There are still restrictions [some counties’] high-traffic areas, such as wearing masks at airports and flights, but once we’re in the actual cities we’re traveling to, you can only spend the day like you normally would.
“It’s summer here and we’re walking a lot, so we don’t wear masks when we’re out.”