Travel Advisors Share Safe Travel Experiences Amid COVID-19
Safe travel is not only possible but commonplace in the time of coronavirus, according to the latest reports from travel advisors affiliated with leading host agency Travel Experts.
Overall, advisors painted a positive picture for curious travelers, detailing the enhanced health and safety measures in place in most destinations as well as the various ways airlines, hotels and other travel suppliers are working to keep customers safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic .
Pamela Walker of Walker Adventures in Palm Coast, Florida celebrated the lack of crowds at the airport and a return to more blissful air travel. "Once at the airport, the plastic shields are everywhere. What wasn’t everywhere were people," she said. "Check-in was on your phone. Boarding the flight was easy. Much better now than before. Deplaning was excellent. Delta asks you to remain seated until the person in front of you has collected their bag and exits the plane. Believe it or not...everyone was respectful of that rule and it worked much more quickly than the old pushing and shoving to get off the plane."
"I cannot state enough that flying is like it was years ago," added Walker. "People very quiet and polite and standing in line like they are asked too. I would not hesitate to fly again soon...even with my mask on."
Meanwhile, Nashville Luxury Travel co-owners Leslie Horn and Jennifer Martin described a positive experience abroad in Turks and Caicos despite the new protocols in place to combat the spread of coronavirus. "While we know all too well the skepticism of traveling, being on a plane, COVID testing prior to travel, selecting travel insurance that offers the right coverage, we can say firsthand it went perfectly," said Martin.
"We felt very safe on the plane. It was clean and the service was good. Everyone wore their masks and sanitized before and during flights. Temperatures were not only taken on arrival but at every resort and restaurant. Resorts even took the temperatures of drivers before they pulled into a resort to drop us off. The whole island is implementing incredible effort and technology in cleaning," she added.
Laura Madrid of Resort To Laura Madrid in Atlanta said that she was "impressed with how each state and each property she visited this summer were handling re-opening, adding that the role of travel advisors has never been more important. "Our job as travel advisors has gotten that much more complex, not only are we having to keep track of international border openings and traveler requirements, we have to understand what each state’s protocol is as well," said Madrid.
Travel is undoubtedly different at the moment but as travel advisors can attest, not all of the changes are for the worse.
