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To help travel advisors keep track of what their customers are reading, Travel Market Report sifted through countless consumer travel headlines this month to find out what consumers are thinking, what experts are saying about the industry, and the best to inform you. More. Here are five stories to inform and entertain you for the month of August.
“Forget Good China; Many Couples Are Asking Travel Money On Their Wedding Registry” – USA Today
Anyone who works in the travel industry, or has traveled at any time in the past two years, should not be surprised by the continued focus on experiences and services over goods at the expense of consumers.
A new piece in USA Today this week talks about how that trend is bleeding at the expense of going to Bloomingdale’s or Macy’s or other big department stores — wedding registries.
According to an article from a study by wedding website The Knot, “7 out of 10 couples in 2021 will report cash gifts, a 10 percent increase compared to last year.” These gifts include gift cards or destination-specific experiences, such as a snorkeling tour in Hawaii or a private gondola ride in Venice.
“Silver-haired and shy about benefits: Retirees take part-time jobs in travel industry” – New York Times
Another trend dominating travel industry talk this year is the workforce shortage. Getting people back to work at airports, cruise lines and travel agencies has been a hot topic in the business, especially among consultants who answer questions from customers about airport delays and major flight cancellations. .
The New York Times this week took a look at some retirees who are jumping into the workforce, targeting jobs in the travel industry not for the pay or benefits, but for the benefits.
The story revolves around a couple who are part of the travel support staff who are struggling with reduced standards after mass layoffs in 2020 and are now entering the workforce like airlines and hotels, and are now struggling with massive layoffs. Most of these new employees are experienced, silver-haired, and unashamed of coming in for benefits.
“Why I’ll Never Travel Without an Apple Airtag in My Bag Again” – Business Insider
I don’t know of any frequent travelers who recommend checking bags on a flight. However, with the tendency to go on long trips alive and well, it’s not always easy to travel hand-in-hand.
A small part of the travel chaos that many have experienced this winter is the loss of checked luggage — claims for lost luggage are up 30% this summer, according to this Business Insider article.
One solution that seems to be trending among consumers, especially in the Apple ecosystem, is the $29 Apple AirTags, which allow you to track luggage using the Find My app on your iPhone or iPad.
“Revenge travel could be a big problem for places like Thailand’s famous Maya Bay” – TIME
Some extra layers on what travel advisors know: revenge travel is a very real thing, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Prior to the pandemic, tourism risks and how destinations were coping were recurring topics.
Now, with the release of travel demand and the impact of COVID-19 laws on the industry diminishing day by day, the discussion about the dangers of over-tourism is coming back, in Thailand’s Maya Bay in the Phi Phi Islands, a famous place reopened to tourists in January 2022 in The Beach movie by Leonardo DiCaprio.
TIME reported: “Thon Tamrongnawasawat, a marine scientist at Bangkok’s Kassart University and an expert on Maya Bay, told TIME that 70-80% of the coral reefs were intact 30 years ago. When the bay was closed in 2018, Only 8% of the reefs were alive. During the three-year closure, Tons and others replanted tens of thousands of new pieces of coral, and only 50% of these survived.
“Travel agent sentenced to federal prison, ordered to pay $400,000 in restitution” – ABC Baltimore News
Just as the travel industry is not immune to labor shortages, it is also prone to such issues. ABC Baltimore reported this week about a cruise agent who was convicted of fraud and is now serving more than three years in federal prison and must pay nearly $433,000 in restitution.
ABC reports that the case escalated to the trip advisor “using customers’ credit cards to make Ponzi-style payments on other customers’ bookings.”
“WMAR-2 News uncovered this operation in 2019 when customers sent invoices from Norwegian Cruise Line to Sofastaii. Their trip was canceled after Hopkins was suspected of credit card fraud. In one example, Hopkins sold a trip for $2,300, but it totaled $7,000. Only three of the 12 payment cards used to make the reservation belonged to the customer, ABC reported.
The full coverage can be read here.
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