The 2020s

For travel industry veterans who thought they’d seen it all, the start of the 2020s was the ultimate eye-opener. The decade was just underway when passengers onboard cruise ships, notably Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess in early February 2020, began facing coronavirus quarantine orders. By March 11 the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, and on March 16 the ‘come home now’ order went out to Canadians, thousands of whom had just left for March Break getaways.

Over the next two years, travel advisors and the travel industry faced a cascading situation that was truly unprecedented, from travel bans and border closures, to myriad testing requirements, months of sun flight suspensions, the fight for commission protection and more. When the announcement finally came in spring 2022 that the last major hurdle - the pre-arrival COVID test - was finally dropping, the news set off a demand for travel the likes of which the industry had never seen. Airlines and airports struggled to keep up, and delays and cancellations were rampant. The deal was sealed in September 2022: all remaining restrictions would be eliminated. Since then ‘revenge travel’ has surged and travel advisors are doing everything they can to manage historic levels of inquiries and bookings.

The pandemic saw the failure of one major cruise line, and ultimately its triumphant return under new owners: Crystal Cruises is back and ready to start sailing again this July. Another surprise announcement - WestJet acquiring Sunwing Airlines and Sunwing Vacations - came in March 2022. The deal was ultimately given the green light by the Canadian government just a few weeks ago.

TRAVELWEEK WAS THERE: Within weeks of the start of the pandemic, Travelweek publisher Devin Kinasz along with Travelweek’s Sales team had organized the first ‘Future of Travel’ virtual conference, providing a much-needed online forum where travel advisors and the trade could tune in to hear upto-the-minute updates and supportive words from suppliers and tourism boards. That first Future of Travel took place June 3, 2020 and since then the team has organized and presented half a dozen more. The latest edition, ‘Future of Travel: Agent Appreciation’ is scheduled for May 31, 2023