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New York – Travel advisors say that just like last summer, Europe is proving to be very popular this year, and top travelers who haven’t booked in advance may be out of luck.
The continent has been a popular summer vacation spot for years, but last year, when travel restrictions related to the pandemic were lifted, even consultants have been swamped with travelers across the pond.
Consultants predict an equally busy season this year and advise clients to consider alternative destinations in Europe and less busy times to travel.
The popularity of Europe – particularly Italy – was a hot topic during a recent panel with travel consultants from Global Travel Group (GTC), the luxury division of Internova Travel Group (No. 9 on Travel Weekly’s 2022 Power List).
“Right now, Europe is still hotter than ever,” said Josh Alexander, a New York-based consultant at ProTravel. “I mean, Europe has always been No. 1 for us American travelers, especially for summer trips, and this year is no different.”
Alexander led to an exciting event in 2023 during the blockbuster season in Europe last year. Last year, travelers confirmed they would be banned from the continent if they didn’t book early.
“The hotels weren’t available or the prices were too high for them, so it led to this kind of FOMO mentality — fear of missing out — people were reaching out to us at the end of last summer to make plans for this summer,” he said.
Joshua Greenberg, GTC Associate Principal of G-Squad Travel, said that given the overall high demand for travel this summer, the focus is on getting customers to book in advance or consider alternative destinations.
“If you don’t book Europe now, you’re going to start looking for places, dates where there’s no access,” he said last summer, when tour operators and destination management companies declined business. In Italy, they did not have the supply of cars and drivers and guides “we have never heard of before”.
Alexander said many hotels have moved to variable pricing, recognizing that consumers may pay less if they book earlier, encouraging more bookings. Flexible cancellation policies give travelers more confidence to book early.
Global Travel Collection Advisory Panel on Travel Trends held at the Peninsula Hotel in New York. Photo credit: Carmine Iallonardo
Italy is hotter than ever
Karen Magee, senior vice president of In the Know Experiences, said Italy in particular is in high demand beyond its historical prominence.
“We used to say if you could build another Italy, we would sell it, and now it’s 10 times truer,” she says.
Travel Siblings, brother-sister duo Harlan DeBell and Cara Bebel, GTC Partnership focuses on destination weddings and honeymoons (it’s the official travel partner of Bloomingdale’s Registry, offering travel benefits and services to registered couples).
This year, DeBelle said, “Italy is very abundant.” As a result, the newest and hottest wedding destination is the Balearic Islands in Spain.
Elisa Goldman, founder of In the Know affiliate Attaché at NinthFlr, is a fan of encouraging her clients to travel to popular destinations like Italy on vacation. She recommends other destinations including Spain, Portugal, Malta, Croatia and Guatemala.
“There’s more to it than just a house where everybody lives, and people get stuck in the idea that they have to be here somewhere,” Goldman said. “It limits their experience. It’s a great thing to go away when the whole world isn’t there.”
Offering a variety of destinations is a common strategy, says Curtis Parris, managing director of corporate, leisure and luxury leisure travel at Parris Group, a protravel partnership. It often offers Spain, Mexico and the Caribbean while catering to the client’s needs.
Summer is on the rise.
GTC Consultants are generally seeing a surge in travel bookings this summer.
Among the other hot spots is Japan, which fully reopened to travel last fall, according to several consultants.
Goldman and Greenberg said that Japanese interest is reaching Italy. With this, Greenberg said, Italy was last summer some issues come as companies refuse to do business due to lack of supply. “Japan was like that this year too.”
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GTC president Angie Lisea said another form of travel that is proving popular this year is sailing small ships, especially cruises and river cruises. The trends there are “very strong,” she said, noting that by 2022, one-third of cruise inventory will come from ships defined as small, with up to 1,000 passengers.
GTC also noted that many customers choosing smaller ships are first-time cruisers and that the age of cruise ships in general is declining, with millennials being the fastest-growing cruise demographic.
GTC’s “tremendous growth” in cruises combined with other interests is shaping up to be a strong year, Liese said.
“Going into 2023, we were very optimistic going into the first quarter and that hasn’t changed,” Lissia said. “Luxury travel is leading the way.”
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