International travel making big comeback after lull during pandemic
Travel agents saw a big uptick in foreign vacation packages this Labor Day compared to a year ago. (Photo courtesy of the Associated Press)
Sandy Davis is shown in this 2019 file photo.
news@greenecountymessenger.com
Pent-up demand for big vacations following the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an 鈥渁ppetite for international travel鈥� that鈥檚 leading more American tourists to take trips abroad this year rather than visiting domestic destinations.
The American Automobile Association and local travel agents are seeing a huge increase in foreign vacation packages this Labor Day compared to one year ago while trips within the country have mostly flat-lined.
AAA East Central spokesman Jim Garrity said flights, cruises and tour packages to foreign counties are up 44% as people pursue those major trips that weren鈥檛 necessarily available to them in 2020 and 2021.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a sign of the times that there are more options on the table and there is more of an appetite for international travel,鈥� Garrity said. 鈥淭here has been a pent-up demand.鈥�
In comparison, domestic travel packages this Labor Day weekend are only up about 4% compared to a year ago, Garrity said. Those 鈥渂igger trips鈥� to national parks at home saw a boom amidst the height of the pandemic as people explored the outdoors while many international bookings weren鈥檛 available.
The pandemic also acted as a wake-up call for tourists who had always wanted to travel abroad but never pulled the trigger, he said.
鈥淎 lot of people got through the pandemic and said they were looking at that trip for a while and the pandemic was a splash in the face. 鈥楲et鈥檚 book that big trip.鈥� It鈥檚 been growing year after year,鈥� Garrity said of international tourism.
While AAA does not track the number of motor vehicles estimated to be on the roads for Labor Day, he noted that gas prices are down about 25 cents in Pennsylvania compared to a year ago, when the state averaged $4.10 per gallon last summer. However, those higher gas prices didn鈥檛 impact summer travel in 2022 because people were ready to hit the road.
Now, Garrity said, people want to visit other countries after having thoroughly explored domestic locations.
鈥淵ou couldn鈥檛 really leave the country at all during the pandemic,鈥� Garrity said. 鈥淭hen more stuff opened up, but there were stipulations. There wasn鈥檛 a comfort level. I think people are finally there.鈥�
That鈥檚 similar to what Sandy Davis, owner of Davis Travel Agency in Roscoe, has seen the past year as more foreign travel options are opening up. She said the most typical destinations she鈥檚 been booking are to Italy, France and England, along with river cruises through Europe. That could change next year if international tourism deals expire and costs go up, although Davis expects people will still want to travel.
鈥淚 see a lot of foreign travel because I think people have saved up for the last couple of years, so they鈥檙e doing big vacations,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been pretty affordable.鈥�
She has noticed recent cancellations for trips to Hawaii due to the devastating wildfires in Maui, and people also have shunned trips to Canada due to the ongoing wildfires there that have sent thick smoke across North America. But cruises are making a comeback after the pandemic as more lines add 鈥渕egaships鈥� to their fleets.
No matter what happens, people are back in the swing of sightseeing after the COVID lockdowns three years ago and subsequent spikes in coronavirus cases.
鈥淧eople are traveling,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淎s long as they can use that plastic credit card.鈥�