The travel industry, although hit hard by the pandemic, has steadily been making gains over the past year. Today, optimism for 2022 is high — however, the war in Ukraine is making some in the industry nervous about Europe’s tourism recovery. This month, MMGY Travel Intelligence surveyed hundreds of U.S. travelers planning to visit Europe about the war to understand its impact on traveler sentiment and behavior. Not surprisingly, there is a hesitancy over executing plans in this current state of world affairs. The following are key findings from that survey.
– 62% of U.S. travelers cited concerns about the war in Ukraine spreading to nearby countries as a factor impacting plans to travel to Europe, which is twice the number (31%) who cited COVID-19 health and safety concerns as a factor.
– 47% of travelers want to wait and see how the situation in Ukraine evolves before making plans to visit Europe this year.
– 50% of respondents said they were concerned about possible delays and cancellations of flights, trains and cruises, as well as the potential for border closures.
Of those surveyed, the most popular destinations they wish to visit are Italy, followed by France, the United Kingdom and Germany.
“Now is the time for travel providers to address this hesitancy around European travel by reminding consumers of flexible cancellation and rebooking policies,” noted MMGY Global CEO Clayton Reid following the release of survey details. “Much like at the height of the Omicron variant, we can’t predict how the situation may escalate; but travelers should feel confident in booking because of the flexible policies most airlines, hotels and OTAs introduced in response to COVID-19. It is also my belief that this hesitancy is short-lived and that prior to the peak travel season to Europe, sentiment will return to much more positive levels.”
At the recent Travel and Adventure show that took place in Los Angeles last week, few suppliers – whether hotels, resorts, tour companies, cruise lines or airlines – seemed concerned that the war in Ukraine in its current state would affect bookings in place and the pace of travel planning by U.S. travelers. Europe has already been out of the picture for a while and pandemic scares have kept bookings at a minimum except for business travelers and those who have friends and family on the continent.
At the same time, destinations in the Americas such as Mexico, have been reaping the benefits of a locked-down planet as they have kept borders open and enacted strict protocols in core tourism pockets that included not only masking and distancing protocols but also assistance with quarantining in the rare cases such actions were needed.
“What is happening right now is very unfortunate, but it seems to be causing a boost in bookings and visits to Mexico,” said Gabriel Ibarra, director of sales and marketing for Mexico Grand Hotels. “For Americans, it is closer for them to travel and it is stable – they do not have to think twice about coming here.”
Indeed, for airlines serving Europe, the Federal Aviation Administration’s prohibition on flying over Ukraine and nearby airspace, has a pricey ring to it as they reroute and pass those costs onto customers – and that is before taking into account the out-of-control spikes in oil prices. Commercial flights from the United States are now mostly limited to South Asia and only recently has India emerged from a frightful blanketing by COVID. Those flyers heading to Europe have already ready seeing double digit rises in fares since the Russian incursion began.
Cruises too are not immune from the fallout of Ukraine. The rerouting, however, has not been a shock to an industry that has been shaken to the core by Covid and still seems to be staying afloat. “We have had contingencies in place all through the pandemic and always have stand-in ports and systems ready to go whether it is because of a sudden spike in a COVID variant or, as in this case, international conflict,” said a representative from Celebrity Cruises at the recent travel show in Los Angeles.
River cruising is affected and the sailings along. Viking’s “Highlights of the Volga River” itinerary is especially popular, as is “Kiev, Black Sea & Bucharest”.
“Given recent events and the developing conflict in Ukraine, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all 2022 departures of our “Kiev, Black Sea & Bucharest” itinerary, said Viking in a statement.
In a statement, Celebrity Cruises confirmed, “We are not currently sailing in this region and we will evaluate whether or not we will visit St. Petersburg, Russia, as scheduled for sailings starting in May. We have plans for alternative ports as needed and will communicate any updates to our guests.”
Other cruise companies, such as Princess, Oceania and Silversea are following suit routing away from such ports as St. Petersburg, Murmansk, Archangel, Vladivostok and the Solovetsky Islands and possibly to ports in Sweden and Finland.
Author: Lark Gould
Lark Gould has been a travel industry journalist for more than 30 years. She shares her insight on cruise travel, air travel, hotels, resorts, popular activities, attractions and destinations to assist travel advisors and travelers with the current news and information they need to travel well.
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