In planning a much-needed getaway, more Londoners turning to travel agents

More Londoners have been turning to travel agencies for help getting away from it all compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.

It's a trend seen across Canada, driven by pent-up pandemic demand as Canadian travellers take long-awaited excursions they had been postponing.

Recent data from Statistics Canada shows business has been strong for travel arrangement and reservation services across the country, with operating revenues above where they were before the pandemic.

Nationwide, travel agencies alone reported operating revenues of some $2.79 billion in 2023, the most recent year available, compared to $2.5 billion in 2019. Revenues took a hit in 2021, dropping to $836 million.

Tour operator revenue hit $9.1 billion, in line with 2019, while other travel arrangement and reservation services, such as ticket service companies and travel wholesalers, saw $3.3 billion in 2023 revenue, up nine per cent from 2019.

That boost in business for travel agencies has been felt by companies in London, who say the high demand continued into 2024 and may linger into this year.

Among the agencies Londoners have flocked to is Travel Genuine. Owner Nurudeen Assaf believes the uptick he's seen since 2019 may be from travellers looking to avoid bureaucracy-related headaches.

"We've noticed vacations have become more expensive and more complex than booking online," he said, "There's a lot of factors involved … and there are a lot of exclusions travellers are not aware of."

Booking everything online yourself can be convenient, but Assaf says the burden is on the traveller to dot all I's and cross all T's when it comes to airline policies, entry documentation and restrictions, insurance, lodging, passports, tours, and more.

Air Canada fighting court order to pay man $15K for delayed flights

23 days ago

Duration 3:22

Air Canada is appealing a court decision ordering them to pay an Ottawa man $15,000 after his family arrived at their final destination more than 24 hours late in 2022. Read more: www.cbc.ca/1.4376743

For example, as of last week, Canadians travelling to the United Kingdom now have to apply for an individual electronic travel authorization (ETA), with some exceptions, even if they have a visa.

Travel agents come with a cost, but Assaf believes booking everything yourself could end up costing as much should something go awry. He argues their connections with airlines and tour operators also help with planning a trip within a budget.

"You may think that travel through agencies is becoming extinct, but in a lot of cases it's the opposite, where people need guidance and advice to make things stress-free and seamless," he said.

At Budget Travel Warehouse, 2023 was also a strong year compared to before COVID-19, owner Ann Hoskings says. However, she acknowledges the longevity of the business boost is hard to gauge.

"There's a little bit of over inflation in those numbers, if I can say that, just because you had such an eagerness to travel," she said. To her surprise, last year saw similar demand, but without the pent-up urgency in 2023.

"Again, it could have been just a matter of people trying to use their future travel credits," she added. 

Londoners taking off for less common destinations

According to Statistics Canada, tour and cruise packages for locales outside Canada and the United States remain the most popular choice at travel agencies — more so now than even before the pandemic.

In 2023, such packages made up 40 per cent of agency revenue, compared to 32 per cent in 2019. A pandemic bump in domestic travel has fizzled out, falling from 21 per cent in 2021 to 13 per cent in 2023.

In the last two years, Hoskings says more clients have been eyeing what she describes as "bucket list destinations" like Australia, Malta, and Sicily — places not booked as much before the pandemic.

"That seemed to be the big travel trend that we were seeing in 2023 was 'I want to do my bucket list,'" she said, adding destinations may revert to more typical locales this year.

With a cost of living crisis putting pressure on finances, people may also stay closer to home. Hoskings thinks there may be an increase in bookings for Newfoundland and Labrador.

"It's just different enough from home, and yet still comfortable enough for what they're wanting to see."

Assaf says the trip requests he's been getting also cover less common destinations, including Tunisia in North Africa, Thailand, and the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao.

He stresses that those travelling by air should arrive at the airport three to four hours before the flight, and to make sure passports are valid for at least six months from the date of return.