Travelbug Kiwis signal hope for Covid-devastated travel agents
• March 30, 2022
MICHELLE DOWNEY OF BUCKET LIST TRAVEL URGES PEOPLE TO SUPPORT LOCALS AND BOOK WITH TRAVEL AGENTS THAT WERE HIT HARD BY COVID. PHOTO BY EMMA HILDESLEY
Travel agents say they are busier than ever as eager Kiwis seek expert guidance now borders are reopening - but it follows a grim two years for the industry when Covid closed down many for good.
Those in the industry feel they were "the forgotten sector" as travel agents were forced to take extra part-time jobs in other sectors to make ends meet, and even sell their homes to keep businesses afloat.
“We went from a huge, multi-million-dollar turnover business to nothing,” says Michelle Downey, director of Bucket List Travel, Silverdale.
She took another job doing PCR testing.
“When you have two jobs it’s challenging trying to keep updated with all the new changes, forms, restrictions and guidelines".
She says the first 12 months of the pandemic were dark times for herself and other agents, with some having to sell their houses or mortgage their homes just to stay afloat.
What followed was the unravelling of the industry, as income dried up and forced many to close for good.
Not enough was done by the government to sustain the "forgotten sector" of the tourism industry, says Kiri Martin, director of You Travel Orewa.
“We sympathise with hospitality and how hard they have been hit; however, they didn’t have two years of income recalled. We were paying back commissions that we’d previously earned,” she says.
Martin says in the beginning of the pandemic her agents were working around the clock to bring people home from remote locations across the globe, often for free as this was “the right thing to do.”
YOU TRAVEL OREWA IS ONE OF THE FEW REMAINING TRAVEL AGENCIES LEFT ON THE HIBISCUS COAST. PHOTO BY EMMA HILDESLEY.
“Within the Hibiscus Coast area, we’ve seen six closures of agencies and we’re the only one left in Orewa,” she says.
Travel Agents Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) President Brent Thomas says while there has been a significant boom in the sector since the removal of self-isolation, the government needs to step up to keep the momentum going.
“We can’t have more planes coming in unless we see the pre-departure process change, which requires our government to catch up to countries like Australia and the UK who are doing away with the pre-departure requirements,” says Thomas.
While the industry gets back on track, travel agents are urging the public to book with them to avoid the hassle and uncertainty of Covid rule changes.
LISTEN: Kiri Martin on why Kiwis now need travel agents’ expertise more than ever.
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