Travelling with Covid-19 | Trusting Trips on Travel Agencies

We may see ourselves travelling again soon as the Philippines eases out on quarantine restrictions. But travelling with Covid-19 without approved vaccine also means following stricter protocols.

Obviously, travel agencies and tour operators will play a big part once again (and even more) as we brave to visit our much-loved holiday destinations.

Travelling with Covid-19: Braving the Unknown

Travel agencies dominated the travel business prior to 2000s. We queued to buy our tickets or to consult about our vacations. Then came the internet and social media putting DIY travels a jaw-dropping phenomenon.

Suddenly, printed brochures, maps and guidebooks became excess baggage. Conventional travel agents grappled to keep up with the lightning-speed of digital transformation. Many took off, but others fell short of the runway.

But that era of DIY travel style also produced innovative travel start-ups and fearless content creators. Sadly, even ghetto tour groups, fly-by-night deals and mass tourism surged.

Fast-forward to 2020, Covid-19 happened. It knocked down the travel industry, mercilessly hitting all its sectors — big and small. Head on, the virus slammed us against the wall of uncertainty. It’s shaking the travel community so hard and everyone is struggling to stay relevant.

As we slowly come out from lockdowns, new norms also take place as many start to brave the unknown. There’s heightened safety procedures, monitored human movement as well as other strict government regulations.

Say Bye-Bye to DIY

Surely, Covid-19 isn’t going away too soon. Experts say even when the vaccine becomes available, it will take many more years before people regain the full confidence to travel again. And even if we will be fully allowed to travel for leisure very soon, it won’t mean moving around as easy as pre-Covid days.

Yes, travelling with Covid-19 is easier when we put our trust in our good old travel advisors. Especially for family vacations with kids in tow, having your travel agents do all the nitty-gritty help ease our anxieties.

The Department of Tourism recently announced the opening of some vacation destinations and accommodation facilities. But all of these also come with a lot of conditions. And looking at how things are progressing, these may be the new normal.

Imagine saving time and effort fact-checking for legit DOT-accredited accommodation facilities. Then ensuring we get certified local suppliers like tour operators, tour guides and transportation.

Besides, dealing with rebookings and reroutings are just too frustrating to handle without an agent in this time of complex situation. What more if we get stranded?

Having accredited travel agencies and tour operators coordinate our next trips assist us manage the risk. They help us navigate through the constantly changing local regulations and secure our holidays a lot easier than doing it all ourselves.

Whether we like it or not, travelling with Covid-19 in the midst will all be government-approved, at least for quite a while. And this time, legit travel operators are seeing a renaissance of their once highly-favoured service of well-coordinated holidays.

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