Trust In Travel

In the first of a two-part conversation, Travelport’s vice president & managing director, North America, Maurita Baker admits that while it’s hard to predict what the recovery will look like, what’s clear is that travel will recover and travel advisors have a chance to start with a clean slate as the world moves away from travel restrictions and people prepare to travel again.

Baker pointed out that “pent up demand is evident, and we’ve been tracking the “shopping” trends in our own MIDT data that confirms people want to travel and they’re ready to travel.”

Travelport’s vice president & managing director, North America observed: “We’re already seeing this demand translate into bookings. Both international and domestic bookings from Canadian agencies have been showing a nice recovery trajectory inching up every month versus the previous month.”

However, Baker noted that: “The rate of recovery for the rest of the world varies vastly depending on geography with the US leading domestic travel already at about 85% of 2019 levels.”

And she added: “The travel industry is resilient; and considering that travel and tourism made up 10% of global GDP before the pandemic, it’s clear that travel is an essential part of our world today. People travel to do business, they travel to connect with loved ones, they travel to learn and travel to experience new and different places. Travel will recover.”

For the full story, check out the latest issue of CANADIAN TRAVEL PRESS.