For the first time, a nation is allowing travelers to cross its border with a digital passport on their smartphone instead of a physical passport. While the trial is happening in Finland, the European Union wants at least 80% of citizens in the 27-country bloc to be using a digital ID by 2030.
Inside The Challenges Of The Post-Covid Travel Industry’s Soaring Demand
18.08.2023 - 15:15 / forbes.com
Demand for travel is high and rates are even higher – an average of $1,600 per night for hotel bookings during 2023/24 festive season. Happy (but stressed) travel advisors and suppliers are delighted to see you swarming back, often in record numbers. The only challenge is meeting your expectations, something that has never been more difficult. Fifty-seven percent of you say, “Creating a travel experience that best fits my expectations is more important than price.” Making sure you have a bon voyage these days takes more time and creativity, even if it’s often hidden behind those smiles. Welcome to the post-Covid travel industry.
According to Virtuoso, a network of travel agencies that cater to HNWs and UHWNs and sell around $30 billion in luxury travel annually, its members have seen a 69% jump in sales versus 2019 numbers. Hotel and cruise segments are up 173% and 122%, respectively. Despite wavering forecasts about the economy and world disorder, future sales, compared to 2019, the previous high-water mark, are tracking 107% higher.
Jack Ezon, CEO of EmbarkBeyond, says he recently launched Embark Together for small groups of family and friends. The programming includes sending a coordinator along with the customers to organize activities and ensure no letdowns.
For everyone, it’s a challenge, say executives attending Virtuoso Travel Week, which ended yesterday in Las Vegas and drew over 5,000 participants.
Sometimes, the answer is no. Mina Agnos of Travelive, a destination management company in Croatia, says, “We had to say we were sold out for the first time ever. We just couldn’t find any additional qualified drivers and tour guides.”
Paul Tumpowsky, CEO of Skylark Travel, says it flows back to travel advisors. “The DMCs are understaffed. There are plenty of hotels, but not the people on the ground to help our clients,” he says.
Rebecca Masri, Founder of Little Emperors & Co, adds, “There’s a lack of English tour guides. The transfer companies are understaffed. There are not enough drivers.”
Most frustrating is providers who take bookings months ahead of time and email hours before a client’s arrival to say no drivers or guides are available.
For advisors, who are often independent contractors, it means more work, which means they have less time to take on new clients and to take a breath.
Matthew Upchurch, Chairman of Virtuoso, urged advisors in his keynote to analyze their customer lists and eliminate the ones who are hard to deal with or have low revenue.
However, firing customers isn’t necessarily easy. Over 99% of Virtuoso clients say they would recommend their advisors, so most new ones come as referrals, making it stressful to dump that nightmare client if they came by way of a big spender.
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