In August, I finally stopped holding my breath and tried to adopt some calm acceptance - just for a change.
Having had a mere six hours’ notice to manage the u-turn in travel regulations for Spain, the 30 hours' notice to address French departures seemed positively generous by comparison!
The government decided to react quickly to a spike in infection figures and consequentially we are now aware of just how abruptly travel plans can subsequently change. It appears that the uncertainty will be with us for a while longer yet.
As a result, the travel and tourism industry continues to suffer the ruinous consequences of coronavirus and there is a strong feeling that the government should be providing more assistance.
Respected trade publication, the Travel Trade Gazette, recently launched its #savetravel campaign - which I am of course supporting - with many thousands of jobs having already been lost and significantly more now at risk.
Why not consider a waive on Air Passenger Duty for a period to help lower prices for customers and encourage bookings for 2021 and 2022? It could be the travel equivalent of Eat Out to Help Out which was used more than 10.5 million times in its first week. I most certainly contributed, and it felt good to both treat myself and help the restaurant business.
My latest featured offer for the new Siyam World Maldives has been a big hit with clients looking for some family diversion in the New Year and I’m buoyed by the increasing interest in escaping to pastures new in 2021 and beyond. Epic North American and South African road trips have also seen a surge in demand with folk drawn to the open road and the opportunity to celebrate anniversaries and special birthdays in the wilderness.
Speaking of special birthdays, please check out my client Fay’s personal account of her fabulous multi-centre holiday in Vietnam, meticulously crafted to celebrate her husband's 50th birthday. This is a bucket-list destination for many and she has kindly shared some candid tips and insight.
I love creating those kinds of special adventure trips to commemorate key milestones, and the long-anticipated return of the Formula 1 Grand Prix to our screens had me joyfully reminiscing about my experience in Baku last year. I hope you enjoy reading about it and I would love to feature more client experiences built around a celebratory trip so let me know if I can help. [I also like to send a little token of my appreciation for those that I publish].
Finally, on that front, it might seem odd to consider gifting travel to your loved ones at such an unstable time but, as with my holidays, my gift vouchers are also tailormade and fully protected, and it's always exciting to have a holiday experience to look forward to when the time is right.
Thanks for you continued support - I hugely appreciate it and wish you all an untroubled September.
Jo x
