Travel Stats – and What to Make of Them

Last week Bob and I attended Virtuoso Travel Week, a huge international travel conference, to learn what’s new in the world of travel.

Here’s a few quick tidbits, followed by how you can take advantage of some of this insider info:

First, some context: The travel biz is divided into Business Travel and Leisure Travel. By virtue of being connected to me and my business The Pampered Cruiser, you fall in the second category. For the record, Business Travel is expected to take a LONG time to recover. It seems that businesses have learned that Zoom meetings, while not perfect, are reasonably effective, and are much cheaper than flying people around the planet.
Leisure sales for 2022 now exceed 2019 levels, making it harder to find deals and discounts. Leisure bookings for 2023 are outpacing 2019 by 47%. That is a huge increase!
Outbound travel by Americans is 122% higher than in 2019. This leads the world, although other countries are catching up. It seems we are ready to get out there again, and air travel nightmares, heatwaves in Europe, and health scares are not deterring us.
76% of travellers have accepted the “new normal”. This means they’re ready to deal with the ambiguity and uncertainty to realize their vacation plans. We have seen this in spades amongst our clients this summer – many have stories to tell, but they all seem to have a sense of humor about some of the travel disasters.
People are spending 34% more on average. The higher spend is mostly a result of longer trips or upgraded offerings. It’s difficult to know if this is a temporary phenomenon based on the fact they didn’t spend much money on travel during the pandemic, or if experiential travel will permanently be a higher priority. Americans have always lagged other industrialized nations for vacation time, and even after retiring, Americans have historically taken shorter vacations. This appears to be changing.
The top 2022 summer destinations: US (domestic travel), Italy, France, Canada, and Greece.
Looking ahead to the fall, people are still travelling lots in the US, as well as Canada, Mexico, Italy, and France.

So, what to make of this?

Cruise lines (both river and ocean) and land-tour companies started the year planning for reduced capacities, and they have slowly released more availability as the year has progressed. This means we are seeing some solid deals for the balance of 2022, and the first quarter of 2023 (see examples below).

In September, we will begin to see marketing campaigns for Alaska and Europe for next summer. We expect both markets to fill more quickly than normal. The pent-up demand for travel will take another year to normalize, so if you have specific ideas in mind for 2023, I don’t think you need to panic, but you might want to start your research soon.

Today’s Travel Opportunities

All these offers expire on August 31st, so get in touch with us quickly if you’re interested.

Repositioning Cruise on Ocean Victory (Small Ship Expedition)

The word “expedition” puts some people off, but it really just means your shore activities are kayaking, zodiac boating, or light hiking. If you can play a round of golf, climb 2 flights of stairs, and get in/out of a bathtub unassisted, then you’re physically fit enough for an expedition cruise. It’s also a great way to experience a small ship – only 168 people on the Ocean Victory, that is repositioning from Alaska to Antarctica for the season. Bob and I journeyed on the Ocean Victory and few months ago and fell in love with the ship. Here’s a link to our ship tour video: https://youtu.be/KVaMZC2oTrQ. We are highlighting this repositioning cruise because it represents excellent value and a unique itinerary.

This Pacific Coast trip has two segments, and you can take either one (or both):

– Segment 1: San Diego to Puerto Vallarta departing October 3, for 8-days.

Fares start at $2599 per person for a Veranda Stateroom.
Visit San Diego, Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, and Puerto Vallarta.

– Segment 2: Puerto Vallarta to San Jose (Costa Rica) departing October 9 for 9-days:

Fares start at $2799 per person (ocean view); $2999 pp veranda.
Visit Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo, Huatulco, Puerto Chiapas, Playas del Coco, Puntarena

– Back-to-Back (Segments 1 AND 2):

15-days from San Diego to San Jose, Costa Rica
Fares from $5099 per person (ocean view); $5999 pp veranda
Includes Round-trip Airfare, and a $300 per person on board credit

– Inclusions:

Pre-cruise hotel night in city of embarkation
Unlimited zodiac and kayak excursions
Open Bar
Wifi on the ship
Enrichment lectures and entertainment on board

Viking Expedition to Antarctica – Free Airfare!

13-days with 6 days of scheduled landings on the continent.
Includes return flights from the US, daily landings, Wi-Fi, beer/wine with meals, all taxes & fees, transfers, expedition gear (so you can pack light)
Oct/Nov 2022 = $9,995 per person for a veranda room
Dec 2022/Jan/Feb 2023 = $11,995 per person (veranda)

River Cruising in the US with FREE Round-trip Air

(We’ve NEVER seen a free airfare promotion from American Queen Voyages before!)

– Lower Mississippi between New Orleans and Memphis

Depart select dates in 2023: February 26, April 2, 9, or 23.
Visit Memphis, Cleveland (Mississippi), Vicksburg, Natchez, Baton Rouge, St. Francisville Nottoway Plantation and New Orleans.
Veranda cabins start at $5098 per person, including free round-trip airfare.
Includes pre-cruise hotel night, unlimited shore excursions, open bar, and Wi-Fi on the ship.
Bob and I did this itinerary last fall on the American Queen and had a blast. Here’s the link to our video: https://youtu.be/HIfirwH0V5M

– Columbia/Snake Rivers between Portland OR, and Spokane WA:

Depart select dates in 2023: April 2, 9, 16, 23, or 30.
Visit Spokane (Clarkston), Richland, The Dalles, Stevenson, Camas/Washougal, Astoria, and Portland.
Veranda Cabins start at $3,698 including round-trip airfare.
Includes pre-cruise hotel night, unlimited shore excursions, open bar, and Wi-Fi on the ship.

AMA Waterways Free Air

Update to our post from last week:

AMA is extending and expanding the Free Air Offer to include several options for European River Cruises departing in March and April of 2023. So if you’re not ready to go in 2022 (the original offer), then perhaps a river cruise early in the season would work better for you.

Here’s a link to last week’s post with more details: https://pamperedcruiser.com/get-free-flights-with-your-european-river-cruise/

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If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here or call 800-876-0168 to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley