Monthly Archives: February 2021

Posted In: Point-to-Point

In sales, health, and politics, difficult questions are ones that don’t have simple answers. Here are the three questions travel advisors hate to be asked right now.

Will Vaccinations Be Required If You Want to Cruise or Eat in Quality Restaurants?

Today’s vaccines can prevent most deaths and infections from COVID-19. Once people are fully vaccinated, some will get sick and may be infectious—but very few will die.

Several recent polls have reported that 79%-85% of cruisers will get vaccinated if this is made a requirement; and that no more than 5% will refuse to cruise if vaccines are mandated. Most cruises are terminated if even a few persons become infected. Why would any captain, or CEO, risk seeing a half-billion-dollar cruise ship sitting idle if a combination of vaccinating, testing, and masking can largely Read the rest of this entry »

Posted In: Taking Control

A Very Big Change is Afoot

I’ve been consulting with travel agencies of various shapes and sizes for about four years now, helping them look at their businesses as “business owners,” versus “travel agents.” During these 48 months, many issues have challenged them to better manage their companies.

Take the whole “consumer direct” firestorm about four years ago, when the major hotel chains aggressively pushed guests to book through their loyalty programs. Then the growth of Airbnb became a big concern. Advisors worried that their clients would decamp to the home share website for their lodging and experiences.

And nothing has been a bigger problem the last 12 months than the depressed travel demand and general craziness surrounding COVID-19 Read the rest of this entry »

Posted In: Outposts

Tokaj and Eastern Hungary

In our last article about Hungary, we dove into Lake Balaton and Western Hungary. Like its other half, Eastern Hungary has differences that set it apart and offer an entirely different experience. The Eger Region is a land of valleys producing wine and a historic Turkish Bath. Debrecen, the second largest city in Hungary, lends the ease of arrival into Hungary with an international airport. And, of course, the region of Tokaj where world-famous wine flows freely. This is Eastern Hungary. Read the rest of this entry »

Adjust Your Attitude

It took me more years than I’d like to admit, but I eventually came to the realization that your body follows your head. Said another way, your success is in your mind. As you thinketh, you becometh. Don’t quote those last five words—I believe I might have exercised a little poetic license with the spelling. The meaning is right on the money. Get Your Thinking Straight.

I have always been fascinated by the “placebo effect.” This is where 100 patients are given a white pill to cure a medical problem. Fifty of those patients receive legitimate medication, while the other fifty receive nothing more than a sugar pill (the “placebo.”) Yet, a significant percentage Read the rest of this entry »

Posted In: Editorial Musings

No surprises here. I am a HUGE fan of email marketing. I love that it is a more personal and intimate platform than social media. I love that clients and prospects have skin in the game by actually asking to receive it.  I love the ROI—the latest numbers suggest you can make $38 for every dollar spent! And I love that the sandbox is mine, and mine alone. I do not need to worry about Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey making some asinine decision determining who sees my message and who doesn’t.  But, to be effective, you need to be careful. Here are three considerations you must think about before hitting that send button. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted In: Publishers Corner

The Power of Excuses

Can any one of us make it through the day without at least one good excuse? I want to give it a try. Sometime. Don’t we always have the best reasons for not living up to the promises we make to ourselves and others? The pretexts we give for our failures to act as we should or do as we might, however, are some of the most serious obstacles we encounter on the way to being what we most want to be and having what we most deserve in our travel practices.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted In: Deck Plans

Viking’s New Nile River Ship

Viking announced an expansion of its Egypt fleet with Viking Aton. Inspired by the design of the company’s Longships and built specifically to navigate the Nile River, Viking Aton is currently under construction and is scheduled to debut in September 2022. Sailing on Viking’s Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary, the new vessel will join Viking’s existing Egypt river fleet, which includes its identical sister ship Viking Osiris and Viking’s first owned and operated ship on the Nile, Viking Ra. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted In: Agent Perspectives

To celebrate my 100th article for Travel Research Online, and in the hope that planes start crisscrossing the Atlantic in the summer, here are seven magnificent tour ideas that will resonate strongly with anglophile clients who’ve been deprived of a UK tour – for far too long. Use the videos and websites to whip up interest and then, between us, let’s encourage them to play their part in the renaissance of GB-bound travel. Read the rest of this entry »

How Delta Vacations Adapted to COVID

It’s been a year that has forced innovation. The time of COVID will go down as the most challenging period ever for the travel industry. The restrictions on travel imposed by the virus are appalling. For the travel industry it’s hard to imagine a worse scenario but, no, let’s not tempt the fates.

The big question for the travel industry has been, how do you survive when travel itself is practically curtailed? The methods by which the individual companies have coped with this nearly impossible situation have been nothing short of heroic. And, we are still in it. It’s an ongoing drama with many heroes and heroines.

Delta Vacations, the wholly owned subsidiary that serves as the vacation packaging arm of the airline, is taking steps to reduce risk and increase traveler confidence. It is adapting its service for the needs of an extraordinarily difficult time. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted In: Outposts

Named after the red sands and clay that color a stunning land, the Red Centre of Australia is the heart of a country. This sacred area runs through the history of the Aboriginal peoples, with ancient wall paintings and myths surrounding it. From canyons to ranges, to Indigenous art and the famous Uluru, the center of Australia is a trip to a kind of natural experience of open beauty. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted In: Point-to-Point

The Small Ultra-Luxury Ships (let’s call them SULS) are defined by their numbers.

They are spacious. The passenger space ratio is at least 65 for true SULS. We derive this figure by dividing the gross tonnage of the ship by the number of passengers. The passenger space ratio is the most accurate estimate of how crowded each ship is. Tight quarters are linked to how quickly a virus can spread among guests and crew members.

You can buy Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships (Douglas Ward) on Amazon for less than $20. It provides this ratio for the 300 cruise ships that serve the American and Canadian markets. If the calculated ratio is in the 30’s or 40’s, the CDC may demand that ship sail Read the rest of this entry »

Posted In: Taking Control

When Cruises Come Back

It’s the most maligned segment of the travel industry – cruises. Some will say rightly so, because cruise ships have the inherent weakness of being a contained environment where people frequently are restricted in close quarters.

But others would say that this same weakness is their strength. If cruise lines can better screen who boards their ships, and establish quick response protocols to contain an onboard outbreak, to some degree, cruising could become a floating extended travel bubble.

I’m no epidemiologist, but a slew of them last fall put together a comprehensive plan for trying to minimize onboard outbreaks. In their report, they stated that “with the ongoing advances in areas such as testing and therapies, our recommendations provide cruise operators with a robust set of thoughtful preparations Read the rest of this entry »

Posted In: Publishers Corner

What’s Your Story?

From earliest childhood, we are taught to listen to stories. We develop a real, active interest in the lead character of a tale. No doubt some people tell stories better than others. But the one story you should spend time writing and polishing is your own. Why are you in travel? What do you do? How do you do it? Have you ever had a really special moment traveling? What was it? Is that why you are a travel professionals? Did you travel with your parents? Why do you think people should travel? How have you spent the past 11 Covid-19 months? What has the past time period meant to you, to your clients? Finally, does your personal profile, which I assure you your clients read, tell your story well? Is it filled with political clap-trap? It is fine, if that it the story you have to tell, but your story is your agency’s story as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted In: Editorial Musings

We all get a ton of emails every day. Some are urgent and need attention. Others….not so much. I am on several hundred lists and to be honest the majority of them are deleted directly from my inbox.  Some catch my attention because of a great subject line or introductory paragraph. And others are emails I actually enjoy getting.  And today, I want to discuss why I enjoy them. It can be boiled down into a single word. Read the rest of this entry »