Is It Right to Promote Holiday Travel Amid a Second Covid Surge?
Skift Take
There’s no telling how many of the projected 50 million Americans traveling for Thanksgiving will ditch their plans as the CDC and states sound the alarm. In the travel industry, the messages go from “stay home, buy local” to “book now for 2021” or “if you’re visiting, be safe,” as destinations and companies continue to balance their need for revenue against public health.
The data is clear. More than half of America chooses to travel for Thanksgiving, by car or by plane, in spite of a second Covid wave raging coast-to-coast, with a record near 80,000 thousand people hospitalized. That is according to Tripadvisor’s 2020 Thanksgiving Travel Index.
Airlines are also anticipating their first significant surge in performance since March, though a 39 percent decrease from last year. AAA said it expects fewer Americans to travel for Thanksgiving, but “fewer” is a relative term when it means 50 million instead of the 55 million who traveled in November 2019.
Then came the "strong recommendation" from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) on Thursday, a week before Thanksgiving, telling Americans to stay home and causing airlines to see an increase in cancellations that had begun days prior as a result of mounting state restrictions. The U.S. Travel Association released an update to its health and safety guidance a couple of hours after the CDC.
“We’re sure that many people will heed the CDC’s latest advisory, but we're equally sure that many of us still choose to travel and why this guidance is so critical,” Roger Dow, the association's CEO, said at a press conference announcing the association’s updated guidance. “It’s abundantly clear that health and safety is a shared responsibility.”
With Covid’s biggest spike since April coinciding with America’s most anticipated annual holiday gathering, how are destinations and travel companies handling their share of that responsibility? How hard do you promote travel and exploit pent-up demand when the travel sector needs the business so desperately, versus pulling back for the sake of public health?
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“The decision to travel is a personal one,” Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel said in a recent press release. AAA also advised travelers to be aware of the risks involved in traveling, while providing tips on how to vacation safely. Although more Americans are expected to drive next week than fly, the Transportation Security Administration projects screening six million air travelers over Thanksgiving weekend.
And the airlines? They’re readying for increased demand. United had announced it was adding over 1,400 domestic flights for Thanksgiving week and that it would monitor bookings in real time to accommodate demand. Earlier this month, J
