2022 and 2023 - What's new? Zoom Recording

Welcome!

So most of you who are here today have known me the 5 years I have been with MTA, and some of us go way back beyond even that! I mention this because it think its good to know that even after all this time I am a) still here doing what I do best, and b) still enjoying the challenge of trying something new – a video chat meeting!!

So lets start!!

This is a really great time to be talking about planning future travel. The travel press is full of positive vibes about international borders opening, about the successful resumption of cruise overseas, about the freedoms of travel that people from other countries are currently enjoying, and we are excited to be joining them soon too! There is an irony that we may well be able to fly to London or LA before we can get to Perth, but at this stage I will take any forward progress I can get!

There are lots of unanswered question in the fine details at the moment, but I think one thing we have learned these last two years is patience …. Just wait and all will be revealed. We have never been in this situation before, so a lot of the detail in the “Road Map to Freedom” is being worked out as things go along, as the science and health advice is received, taken on board, and then adapted to suit the systems required to get us all moving.

The real situation at the moment is that if we do not start planning now, do not start booking for 2022 and 2023 and even beyond that (as you can in cruise) there is a genuine risk that you will miss out….. I call it GROMO!

Seats on planes back to Australia will be taken up by international visitors, by returning Australians, berths on cruise ships are going to be booked not only by Australians but overseas visitors who have also postponed their travel to Australia for the last two years. This will impact all sorts of holiday styles and destinations, beyond just cruise.

What then do we need to know to start booking?

Travel Insurance? Yes you can get it. Yes it covers Covid in certain scenarios and in certain situations. Most underwriters offer different policies within their own brand, and each has different levels of Covid cover as well as the standard inclusions we are used to. Insurance is a really personal conversation as it totally depends on where and when you trip is, for how long, and takes into account your personal circumstances and needs, so for those reasons I’m not saying much more today on the subject, other than to consider this – insurance companies don’t want to lose customers. They have also lost lots of business the last two years. No travel means they have nothing to cover. They both want and need their policies to be comprehensive and fair, to offer travellers decent and responsible cover for their needs, and as we are speaking today there are two companies I deal with currently in the process of updating their PDS and cover to adapt to the newly opened borders and the international travel coming our way…. So watch this space, and I am sure the end result will be good.

Travel has done a full circle. Remember when we used to have to get visas and currency and “shots” for everywhere we went? That’s where we are again. Don’t be too harsh on our Doctors and Politicians about the way they constantly remind us about getting vaccinated. Double jabbed. If you wish to travel you will find that virtually every country in the world, not just Australia, every tour company, airline and cruise line will have a policy, for the foreseeable future at least, which will require you to be fully vaccinated against Covid, often at least two weeks prior to departure, for you to participate in travel or cross any international border. You will often be asked to prove you have tested Covid negative before you commence travel, usually within 72hrs of departure, fill out online pre arrival health questionnaire forms for most countries, cruise lines and airlines, and check the entry requirements for every single country you pass through, even as a transit, AND be prepared for all of these requirements to potentially change at the last minute.

BUT that is where I come in as professional travel agent with resources that have access to all of this information, and a whole team of airline, cruise line and touring contacts behind me to make sure that we get all the hard work done for you so that you can simply enjoy the ride.

Travel in the foreseeable future will involve masks, hand sanitiser for sure, limited numbers in group sizes on ships, planes and coaches for now, but it has also, I believe, heralded a new era in the safety and convenience of travel. The advances in technology in all areas that impact health and safety while we travel has improved in leaps and bounds, based on the scientific and medical advice that has been made available.

The technology and improvements are here to stay. The other are merely surface changes which will, I am sure, not impact significantly on the very essence of why we travel and what we enjoy for most of us.

When we travel and cruise, we will still enjoy fine food and good wine, entertainment and activities on board, the enrichment and cultural experiences you have in every new port ared the same. The people you meet and friends you make will not change – all of these and more are vital elements of travel for us, and they are still there.

This is also a great time to consider booking your future travel as the dreaded “terms and conditions” of these bookings are the most flexible and fair that they have ever been. When all this started two years ago, policy from all the travel and tour companies seemed to change weekly as we all learned what we were dealing with. There is certainly no “grey” area now in these policies.

The payment deadlines are extended. The compensation if your departure is impacted by Covid in some way is defined right from the start as to what is refundable, and when you are given credits for future travel. Name changes are often allowed. Deposits are often lower. The flexibility of your booking is greater than it has ever been – another reason why you can now feel secure in booking your future holiday – you will not lose your invested funds.

I think that one of the great things about cruise is that there are certain destinations in the world that totally lend themselves to being best experienced, and sometimes can ONLY be experienced, on a cruise – I am thinking first of the Pride of America – the NCL ship that sails from Honolulu every Saturday on her 7 night regular voyages. This lets you spend a week in Hawaii spending all your days on every island, never spending whole days travelling bouncing in and out of Honolulu airport on your way somewhere else.

The Galapagos, Arctic and Antarctic are also regions where cruise is the best and only way to experience a region.

The other area the jumps to mind as best seen on a cruise immediately is Alaska, and Martine discussing Oceania will outline how different the small ship experience can be and what advantages that brings to Oceania clients in certain destinations including Alaska.

So, to sum things up, there is no time like the present. No time like now to think about your next trip, start planning and then start booking with confidence. Once the government gives the green light and travel is all systems go, I can guarantee that everyone will be really busy as everyone will want to get moving, and get moving yesterday!!

Attending today, you have the advantage of knowing that this is what will happen. While things are a little quiet, time on my hands is something I DO have and it’s a great time for us to meet up and get things done.

We can talk, email, video call, and hopefully in only a couple of weeks’ time actually be able to get back to visiting each other and working face to face together to get your plans moving along.

Policies are in place to keep your funds safe, your health safer than ever, and experience around the rest of the world is showing that these policies are working. Australians will really start and suffer GROMO - a genuine risk of missing out on the bookings they want, at the fare price point they want to secure, if they don’t get moving soon.

We need our travel experiences to continue being deposited in our memory bank.

By Sarah Fenton

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