Under the Sun: ABQ Travel Company’s challenges keep getting better

In the year In 1980, Sun Tours, an Albuquerque-based tour company, planned the first group trip to the Oberammergau Passion Play in Germany.

The Catholic Games happen every 10 years; In the year Every decade since the first trip in 1980, Sun Tours has brought groups of New Mexicans to see it.

Except for 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic postponed the play and dried up Sun Tours’ business.

Like many tourism businesses, Sun Tourists floundered during the pandemic.

“We stopped counting when we canceled our 100th tour,” said Frank Finn, Sun Tours president and business consultant.

However, down to just six employees – less than half of its current workforce – Sun Tours managed to cope with the outbreak. The 44-year-old, who is running a local motor coach and international tours, is planning to make a trip to the late passion game this year.

While many pandemic travel restrictions have ended, the challenges have not, said CEO and owner Eric Rosenberg. Inflation, flight cancellations and regulatory changes continue to make planning tours more difficult.

“Every day is a little more challenging,” Rosenberg said. “…lots of moving targets out there.

According to the US Travel Association, travel spending in June 2022 was the highest since the start of the pandemic — the third month in a row that 2022 travel spending exceeded 2019 spending.

Despite increased demand for their services after the pandemic lifted travel restrictions, Rosenberg said it was becoming more difficult to “deliver on their promises.”

Sun Tours can plan, price and book tours months or even years in advance. Recently, many suppliers have adjusted their prices due to inflation and rising labor costs, Rosenberg says. Since customers have already booked and paid for the tours at a set price, Sun Tours is left with the bill.

“Our salespeople come back to us and you know, your motor coach has gone up 20-30% because fuel or labor costs have gone up,” Rosenberg said. “… So we have to take on a lot of other expenses.

Rosenberg said many of the hotels and restaurants that solar tours rely on are closed — or don’t have the staff to accommodate large groups.

“The places we’ve relied on over the years have changed,” Rosenberg said. “…and now, we’ve promised all our travelers that we’ll have a nice group dinner that night, and we have to regroup.

Varying state and country COVID-19 regulations have complicated article travel. Many national parks have limited visitor centers and limited the number of people who can hike, Rosenberg said.

Even getting guests to their destination has become very difficult. Many airlines are canceling and rescheduling flights at the last minute, Rosenberg said, which can wreak havoc on previously made travel plans. Recently, Finn and Rosenberg visited Nova Scotia. The airline they were supposed to use changed the arrival time from 5pm to midnight, scrambling to book passengers on Sun Tours flight to Philadelphia, put them up in a hotel and fly them to Halifax the next morning.

“Getting your customers from point A to point B in a reasonable amount of time becomes more challenging,” Rosenberg said. “… it’s a headache, especially on some international destinations.”

Rosenberg said the merger of airlines has reduced the number of routes and choices available to the company. He has stopped flying privately between Albuquerque and Tucson, where he owns a second tourism business, Pleasurebent Tours. He drives instead.

Rosenberg originally planned to buy the Albuquerque travel company two years ago.

“Then Covid hit,” Rosenberg said. “… So we started doing some joint tours together.”

He bought the business just three months ago.

Good and Rosenberg are working hard to keep their customers happy in the face of uncertainty.

“It’s challenging to deliver on our promises sometimes because of things that are out of our control, of course airlines and hotels and any kind of shutdown,” Rosenberg said. But we have always been able to help them and come together for them.