2022 TRAVEL IS LOOKING UP!

HAPPY 2022!

With 2021 in the rear view mirror, where are we headed for 2022?

Well, it has been quite a ride, hasn’t it? Who would have thought in March of 2020 we would still be factoring a virus into our daily decisions? Certainly not us! But for those of us who love to travel, we know that the hoops we need to jump through to get out in the world are well worth the rewards of traveling!

With so much uncertainty about the future, We would like to share our thoughts on what travel will look like in 2022. Of course, these are just our own predictions, but we are basing them on past experiences and trends we are seeing from our own bookings.

Omicron

When we think about Omicron, we think of Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” (please don’t judge). This virus is pulling some punches right now, moving to about everyone we know, but? We also think the pendulum will stop much more quickly than the first wave, and the subsequent Delta variant, to a point where it will be just like a common cold. A virus can’t continue to kill its host, and thus it mutates constantly. Each mutation will present itself as less deadly but more highly contagious. Eventually? We hope this will just look like the common cold. And thus, as a species, we have to learn how to live with this virus. And live with it we must.

How does this affect my travel plans for 2022?

This is a bit difficult to answer, because as time goes on, we really do not know what is going to happen. If you have plans to travel domestically, you shouldn’t see much change. International travel is a bit different in that we see the needle constantly moving. Some countries have no interest in slowing their tourism down, and we are well aware of which countries these are. Others take a more conservative approach and are instilling stricter guidelines again. But as we said before, we think this Omicron wave will be short lived, hopefully gone in the next few weeks. And whatever variant is next, should be less dangerous to humans.

Like many of you, we, too, have many travel plans in the upcoming months. We are going to Mexico in a few weeks to cuddle some migrating grey whales. Michelle is traipsing around Colorado for several weeks to watch her son compete, and then we are off to London, Paris, and Spain (not all at the same time). We plan to take every single one of these trips, adhere to the regulations, and come back without any issues.

As we always say, some people are more risk-averse than others. Ultimately you have to make your own decisions about your travel and what you feel comfortable doing. If you have travel plans, our advice is to try and not project too far into the future as things are always changing. It is better to keep your plans and cancel closer to the travel date than to cancel now, and wish you had gone.

SHOULD I CONTINUE TO BOOK TRAVEL?

It is of no surprise that we believe that people should continue to book their travel plans. We always think it is better to book a trip, so you can get what YOU WANT at the best prices, and cancel if needed, than it is to book at the last minute where you will pay more money, higher fees, and probably make compromises on the destinations, hotels, and experiences.

TRAVEL TRENDS WE ARE SEEING FOR 2022

Our bookings for 2021 represented a 31% increase over 2019 (no use in comparing it to 2020, lol!). This tells us that our clients are getting out there and enjoying travel. And we are with them every step of the way! We had a 53% increase in the number of new active clients, which tells me that travelers want the services we provide and the extra help navigating the landscape that at times is quite confusing.

And 2022 HAS NOT SLOWED DOWN!

We write this on January 2nd, and already our 2022 bookings represent 65% of the total we booked for 2021. There is no doubt in our minds that our sales will surpass the 2021 numbers. And what does this all mean for you, the traveler? BOOK YOUR TRIPS FAR IN ADVANCE!!!! We can’t stress the importance of this enough!! We have already booked trips out as far as Summer 2023 and for all time periods in 2022. People are planning, so like last year, we are seeing a bit of the hunger games we wrote about in last year’s blog. The travel inventory is low (there is a very finite number of destinations open or where people are willing to go) and the demand is high (people using their travel credits, tired of being home), which is why planning ahead is so important.

Here is where people are going: Bahamas, Barbados, Turks & Caicos, Mexico, Jamaica, France, Greece, Italy, Montana, Deer Valley, and more! Basically, you are traveling in the US, Mexico, Caribbean, and Europe! This follows the trends we saw in 2021, and we think these destinations will be the most sought after for at least another year.

Being vaccinated is another important factor in your travel. More and more countries and hotels are banning the unvaccinated traveler, making the options for this group of people very limited. Being vaccinated, and boosted, is a crucial factor in your future travel.

THE MEDIA, THE CDC, AND YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

We want to remind everyone who has read this far, please stay calm! The news is a BUSINESS and the more they report things are urgent, or bad, or scary, the more you tune in & click, which is more ad dollars for them. If you need further proof of this? Please listen to this episode of Stephen Dubner’s FREAKONOMICS, titled “Why is the US Media So Negative”. It is a fascinating listen, and the statistics published by Stanford University are a real eye-opener.

We also want to remind everyone that the CDC warnings, which of course should be considered, do not always tell the whole story. We recall a group that canceled a trip to Iceland several months ago because the CDC raised the travel warning to Iceland. For those of us who have traveled to Iceland, we know how open and spacious the country is. The rates of covid were higher in the groups’ home states than they were in Iceland. It really broke our hearts for them that they felt they had to make this difficult decision. The trip would have been safely traveled and enjoyed by all. Sometimes, a country has its warning level raised, yet the numbers are in areas where tourists do not travel. Again, the warning is not showing the big picture. We are not saying to NOT LISTEN to the CDC’s recommendations, we are just saying to put it in perspective when considering travel. Other countries list the United States as a red zone, and completely unsafe for travel, yet there are many places Americans will travel here!

ETERNAL OPTIMISTS

Ultimately, we at Master Travel are here for it all. We are here to help our clients navigate this uncertain landscape and keep you informed of your choices and the changes that will affect your trips. We identify as being eternal optimists, and think the future is bright. We aren’t naive to the bumps in the road that may be ahead, but the overall forecast is good.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!