Machine readable passports have finally been phased out and will no longer be recognised as valid travel documents in Rwanda.

According to an official announcement from the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration (DGIE), the development took effect from June 28, 2022.

“The Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration would like to remind the general public that the Rwanda Machine Readable Passport (old passport) has been phased out and ceased to be recognised as a travel document with effect from June 28,” the announcement read.

All Rwandans who wish to travel to countries where a passport is needed, are required to have the new Rwanda East Africa Passport (EAC) e-Passport.

However, returning citizens with valid Machine-Readable Passports will be allowed to return to Rwanda.

In June 2019, the DGIE started the issuance of the e-Passports, a move that other East African countries including Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have also embarked on.

An agreement between EAC member states targets that machine-readable passports are phased out within two years from the date of issuing of the first e-Passports.

In this respect, Rwanda’s first deadline for the phase-out was June 27 last year.

However, with the global Covid-19 pandemic that led to lockdowns in several countries, the Rwandan Communities Abroad could not travel to the nearest Embassy to provide biometric data due to travel restrictions.

As a result, Rwanda extended the phase-out deadline for one year, until June 27, 2022.

In an earlier interview with The New Times, Lynder Nkuranga, the Director General of the DGIE highlighted some of the advantages of the e-Passport, including the fact that it raises the level of trust for Rwandans traveling since it is considered as the world standard travel document.

“Countries can authenticate and confirm the issuing authority of the e-Passport. E-Passport forgery is close to zero because of the embedded chip that contains biometric data of the bearer,” she said.

She referred to the e-Passport as a secure digital travel document that can be digitally verified by other countries.

“The portrait and names written on the chip can be verified to confirm that the holder of the passport is the person whom he or she claims to be.”

The document is also looked at as a step forward in the fight against cross-border crimes including terrorism since it uses advanced technology that ensures that travel documents are used by the legitimate persons and authorities.

Rwandans abroad can apply for both the national identity cards and e-Passports via the Irembo portal.

The development assists Rwandans living in foreign countries to get their East African e-Passports.

The applicants’ biometric data is captured from the nearest Rwandan Embassy and be used for the processing of both ID card and e-Passport.

How much does it cost?

There are several categories of e-Passports. An ordinary one for minors valid for two-years costs Rwf25,000, while that of 5 years (with 50 pages) costs Rwf75,000.

An ordinary 10-year passport with 66 pages, costs Rwf100,000, a service passport with a 5-year validity costs Rwf15,000, and a diplomatic passport costs Rwf50,000.

Source: New Times Rwanda

Twelve African countries have collectively blocked airlines from repatriating US$1 billion to their home countries, and Africa is responsible for 67% of airlines’ blocked funds globally. One country stands out – as of May 2022, Nigeria was hanging onto $450 million in funds belonging to foreign airlines, and one of the consequences is flights to that country cost six or seven times more than flights to comparable flights. And the amount Nigeria is holding onto is increasing weekly.

IATA wants to resolve the issue of blocked funds

Speaking at IATA 2022 in Doha, Kamil Alawadhi, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, said resolving the issue of blocked funds was a key priority for IATA. Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa and the world’s tenth-largest oil exporter with a population exceeding 200 million – it’s not a market many airlines can easily ignore.

Qatar Airways, Delta Air Lines, Ethiopian Airlines, Emirates, Lufthansa, British Airways, and Turkish Airlines number among the high-profile foreign airlines flying into Nigeria. While they pocket the fares sold to passengers in markets outside Nigeria, collecting monies from fares sold to passengers in Nigeria is a trickier issue. Emirates boss Tim Clark has previously highlighted the issues his airline faces regarding Nigeria’s recalcitrance.

Mr Alawadh says ongoing problems with blocked funds are extremely damaging to the airline industry. “This is sad to see that one country almost contributes about 25% of global funds. Some countries have reasons you can understand for not releasing our cash, political reasons, and economic reasons, but releasing blocked funds has been one of our priorities.”

Africa accounts for the lion’s share of global blocked funds

Elsewhere in Africa, Zimbabwe is holding onto around $100 million, Algeria about $96 million, Eritrea has around $79 million belonging to foreign carriers, and Ethiopia is retaining about $75 million. Mr Alawdh says IATA doesn’t always know the exact reasons why Nigeria and other countries retain funds belonging to foreign airlines. Still, he does say it is often a question of priorities set by governments and central banks. When there is a limited pool of capital, including hard currencies, to go around, there is tough competition for what money is available.

Some countries are incrementally working to pay down amounts owed – a development IATA welcomes. Other nations like Nigeria, where the problem is escalating, are tougher to deal with. IATA’s Regional Vice President says there are multiple consequences for the airline industry. Individual airlines are out of pocket. Consequently, fares on flights to Nigeria are exponentially high to cover that portion of tickets the airlines where the airlines cannot pocket the revenue.

Kamil Alawadhi is optimistic about resolving the blocked funds problem

Retaining money belonging to airlines also discourages other airlines from serving the market, reduces connectivity, and reduces options for passengers.

“It’s been a hectic ride with Nigeria,” says Mr Alawadh. He says he’s met with the Nigerian Vice President over the matter and adds there’s awareness at the top levels of Government there that they need to address the issue. “You keep chipping away and telling them that this will damage the country down the road.”

IATA’s man in Africa and the Middle East says he’s concluded two rounds of talks with the Nigerian Government and that the third round is soon to start. Kamil Alawadhi is relatively optimistic about a solution to the long-running problem, but he cannot say how soon it will be resolved.

Source: Simple Flying

South Africa’s Health Minister Joe Phaahla said on Thursday that he had been notified by the country’s laboratory services that they had confirmed the first monkeypox case in South Africa.

The patient was a 30-year-old male from Johannesburg who had no travel history, “meaning that this cannot be attributed to having been acquired outside South Africa,” Phaahla told a news conference.

A process of contact tracing was underway, he added.

Monkeypox is a viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions. It is endemic in parts of Africa, but not South Africa.

The World Health Organization will decide on Thursday whether to declare monkeypox a global health emergency. That has stirred criticism from some leading African scientists who say it has been a crisis for some African countries for years.

Source: The Star

Kenya Airways’ (KQ) Fahari Aviation and EVE UAM have signed a letter of intent for an order of up to 40 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles.    

The agreement involves joint studies to develop and scale the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market in Kenya and a business model for cargo drone operations, Kenya Airways said in its statement. Deliveries are expected to start in 2026. 

“Urban air mobility is the future of transport, and we are honoured to be the champions of this in the region,” said Allan Kilavuka, group managing director and chief executive officer, Kenya Airways. 

Fahari Aviation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kenya Airways focusing on the application of drone technology in training, operations, and traffic management. Fahari aims to develop maintenance distribution and design, and production of drones. 

“The journey to realize the dream of eVTOL vehicles in Kenya is on course and the partnership with EVE UAM, is a key achievement for us as part of the strategy to adopt new technologies as a growth strategy for the sustainable development of Africa,” Kilavuka added.  

EVTOL aircraft is a new technology that uses electricity to hover, take-off, and land vertically, making it easier to move within cities while avoiding traffic jams. 

Commenting on the partnership with Fahari Aviation, Andre Stein, co-CEO of Eve said: “This is a new chapter of the Eve and Fahari Aviation partnership to strengthen both companies’ commitment to establishing the foundations that will sustainably support the ecosystem for urban air mobility in Kenya.” 

“Last year, we announced a collaboration to develop operational models for Fahari Aviation’s key markets, and today’s announcement confirms that it is evolving successfully,” Stein added. 

Kenya Airways subsidiaries diversify into cargo operations 

Regional low-cost airline, Jambojet, a brand of Kenya Airways, diversified into cargo operations in February 2022.  

Dubbed Kenya’s first low-cost airline, the carrier committed its Dash 8-400 passenger aircraft to operate cargo services to eight destinations within Kenya – Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu, Mombasa, Malindi, Ukunda, Lamu, and Goma in Eastern DRC. 

Jambojet Managing Director and CEO, Karanja Ndegwa said that with the introduction of cargo operations, the airline can focus on connectivity for the region’s coastal destinations. 

Source: Aerotime Hub

Dubai’s successful tourism rebound continues to inspire global tourism recovery with the city welcoming 6.17 million international overnight visitors from January to May 2022, a 197 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase from the same five-month period in 2021, which saw the destination attracting just over two million international travellers.

The latest tourism data was revealed by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) at its first ‘City Briefing’ for 2022, a bi-annual event that provides an in-depth industry outlook to stakeholders and partners, and discusses future strategies to further reinforce the city’s position as a global hub for business, investment, talent and tourism. The event was attended by more than 1,200 key executives from across the tourism ecosystem including aviation, travel, hospitality and retail sectors.

His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) commented: “The remarkable vision and leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, have always been an inspiration to us all, and this is reflected in the city’s continued success, as we focus on enhancing its position as a global hub for economy and tourism. We are building on the massive momentum generated by the hugely successful Expo 2020 to drive growth across all our tourism pillars from cultural to culinary experiences, while working towards achieving the ambitious goal of making Dubai the most visited destination and the city of the future that will be the best place in the world to live and work.

“As we look ahead to the remainder of 2022 and beyond, we will harness the key elements that have ensured the industry’s steady growth year after year since we reopened to international visitors in 2020 – providing an unparalleled diverse destination offering that offers unique value and memorable experiences for our guests. This can only happen with the support of our stakeholders, and we are counting on them to continue playing a pivotal role in facilitating growth, as well as restoring confidence and trust among travellers in Dubai as a safe destination,” HE Helal Almarri added.

The new tourism figures from DET show that overall, Dubai hotels maintained an average occupancy level of 76 per cent from January to May 2022 compared to 62 per cent during the corresponding period in 2021. According to data from hotel management analytics firm STR, Dubai ranked No.1 globally in hotel occupancy, ahead of other international destinations including New York (61 per cent), London (60 per cent) and Paris (57 per cent), for the January-April 2022 period.

Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), opened the day’s programme by providing an overview of the industry with a detailed presentation that featured valuable visitor and marketing insights, in addition to an update on the communications activities that are underway across key international markets that include a novel campaign designed to encourage more families and global travellers to select the city for their summer vacation.  The ‘Stay More, Pay Less’ campaign is a citywide initiative supported by over 60 hotels and resorts, providing outstanding value to international travellers this summer. The promotion provides guests an amazing offer – stay for seven nights at participating hotels and resorts and pay for only five nights or stay for five nights and pay for only three nights stay.

Issam Kazim, CEO of DCTCM, commented: “Our constant dialogue with stakeholders and partners is crucial in ensuring that we are all aligned with the collective efforts being made under the guidance of our visionary leadership to ensure the city stays at the forefront of the world’s leading travel destinations. Our collaboration with stakeholders also provides them an opportunity to take advantage of our diverse campaigns and activities that are designed to sustain Dubai’s global appeal and keep the city top-of-mind as a must-visit destination. Dubai’s positive performance is also testament to the city’s resilience and the success of our recovery strategy. As we strive to leverage a robust domestic market and the growing international visitation, we are confident that the summer season will serve as an ideal launchpad to further accelerate momentum across the industry.”

He also briefed participants on the global campaigns, which have captivated audiences all over the world and shone a light on the city and all of Dubai’s attractions- from Dubai Presents, the thrilling campaign, which highlights ‘must visit’ attractions across the city through trailers featuring Hollywood and Bollywood stars, to Dubai being selected as the No.1 Global Destination in Tripadvisor Travellers Choice Awards 2022. The event also highlighted the drive to position Dubai as a global gastronomy hub that has received a strong boost with the launch of MICHELIN Guide Dubai and the arrival of renowned fine-dining food critique brand Gault&Millau, both important additions to the city’s fast evolving gastronomy scene. 

With its multifaceted offering, Dubai remains a popular destination, further validating the successful global campaigns run by DET throughout the year. Since Q4 2021, there have been over 200 million searches for travel to Dubai, and in May 2022 searches and bookings for the destination reached almost pre-pandemic levels.

Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) presented key highlights of Dubai’s Retail Calendar 2022, packed with iconic citywide festivals, events, activations and experiences including the much-awaited Dubai Summer Surprises, the region’s biggest summer festival which is celebrating its 25th edition this year, from 1 July to 4 September, 2022, as well as next month’s Eid in Dubai – Eid Al Adha celebrations and the Dubai Fitness Challenge, which kicks off in October.

“With our unbeatable summer proposition, Dubai offers more value than any comparable destination with its world class infrastructure, the vast scope of its events and entertainment centres and hassle-free entry process, making it the summer destination of choice for families. Besides, our continuous collaboration with stakeholders and partners has paved the way for Dubai to offer a unique holiday package, allowing families, residents and visitors to avail themselves of innovative promotions, incentives and diverse deals this summer in Dubai,” Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of DFRE, said.

Source: Breaking Travel News

Expedia Group has been busy shedding non-core brands and trying to simplify operations, so why did it just expand a travel agent affiliate program from North America into 21 new countries in the Caribbean, 16 in Europe, 13 in Latin America, and three in the Middle East?

The company announced the expansion of its longtime Travel Agent Affiliate Program Tuesday. From 15,000 travel agencies in the program in 2011, to more than 35,000 today, the program isn’t exactly shattering growth records. Expedia’s affiliate program counts more than 100,000 agents, the company said.

But while leisure travel agency bookings aren’t likely financially material for the $15 billion company — its market cap has dropped off a cliff since February — Expedia Group’s business to business segment is.

The Expedia Travel Agent Affiliate Program is part of the company’s business-to-business segment, which generated close to $1.5 billion in 2021 revenue. And Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern sees expanding its affiliate business, which includes not only leisure travel agencies but also travel management companies, airlines, retailers and banks, as a key strategic priority.

The affiliate business seems to be a much larger one for Expedia Group than for Booking Holdings, which is trying to play catch-up, and recently began powering a T-Mobile travel portal.

As part of its announcement, Expedia Group said it has become an American Society of Travel Advisors Silver Level Proud Partner. Expedia has been an ASTA premium member, which currently requires a $2,000 annual fee, since 2000. But joining the Silver Level Proud Partner tier means ASTA also treats Expedia as it would a supplier, and the company would spend around $40,000 annually to market to U.S. travel advisors, an ASTA spokesperson said.

Expedia announced several promotional and limited-time offers, including higher commissions on select hotels, for affiliate program members in Canada, Europe, UK, Mexico and the U.S., as well as the ability for U.S. travel advisors to offer 15 percent discounts on hotels worldwide from July 6 to August 7.

Travel agencies that belong to the Expedia affiliate program can book vacation rentals, hotels, flights, packages, car rentals and activities. They can even — in a way — earn commissions on airline bookings, which tend to come with zero commissions. If Expedia affiliates book a vacation package that includes a flight they’ll get a commission on the entire trip cost, including the flight.

It remains to be seen whether leisure travel agents will be big business for Expedia, but the company has enough confidence in the idea to expand the program into 53 new markets.

Source: Skift

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has granted landing rights to Uganda Airlines at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN), which would be the first direct flight from Uganda to China since the pandemic. 

Uganda Airlines took to Twitter to announce it has secured landing slots at Guangzhou Airport, located in the Chinese Province of Guangdong in Southern China. 

The CAAC addressed a letter to the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCCA), accepting the resumption of scheduled passenger flights between China and Uganda, according to a report published by local media firm, UBC. 

The UBC report also stated that Uganda was granted permission to operate up to one weekly flight to any point in China except Beijing and Shanghai.  

The Entebbe-based flag carrier will operate services to China with its fleet of Airbus A330 Neos, according to a tweet from the Government of Uganda. 

In a report published by the Monitor, Shakira Rahim, a spokesperson for Uganda Airlines, confirmed that the service will be the first direct flight from Uganda to China post-COVID.  

“Currently, there is no direct flight from Entebbe to China, which brings an amazing opportunity to tap into this gap. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, there were more than 25,000 passengers from China to Uganda, according to 2019 travel data,” said Rahim. 

Uganda Airlines will look to expand its cargo operations, which it commenced in September 2021, Rahim added.  

“The business case for China is progressive, there has been a lot of trade and business transactions between the two countries,” the Monitor cited Rahim as saying.  

However, Rahim said that the airline is yet to receive a permit from the CAAC to fly to the airport because it has not yet submitted its route plan to the CAAC. 

Uganda Airlines operates a fleet of four CRJ-900s on its intra-African route networks and two A330-800neos on its long-haul services, which includes four weekly flights to Dubai from its hub in Entebbe.  

However, the airline has plans to expand its long-haul operations to the United Kingdom, India, and Saudi Arabia. Uganda Airlines expects to launch operations to London and Guangzhou before the end of the 2022/2023 fiscal year, according to Matia Kasaija, Minister of Finance in Uganda’s Cabinet in a report published by The Independent. 

Source: Aerotime Hub

The pandemic may be fading in many markets, but the Ukraine crisis is a reminder that volatility in travel demand is here to stay. Airlines, hotels, and cruise lines need to draw faster insights from their data to thrive.

Volatility in travel demand signals will remain long after the pandemic wanes. That’s according to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which argues that airlines, hotel chains, and cruise lines need to draw faster insights from their data.

“History is no longer necessarily a lens to the future,” said Jason Guggenheim, global head of travel at BCG’s travel and tourism practice. Innovative companies need ways to see the future with more clarity in a world that is more volatile.

This analysis echos one of Skift’s megatrends defining travel in 2022, which was that “uncertainty is the new certainty.” Companies that are flexible with a greater diversity of business lines will perform the best against unknowns, we argued.

The consultancy’s specific point is that the pandemic made classic revenue management practices less reliable.

“We’re seeing people move from ‘can I predict demand?’ to ‘can I sense demand?’,” Guggenheim said in a new podcast last week. “Management teams and leaders have to look for signals that are far weaker and maybe in some cases not even related to the industry they’re in.”

Tuning in to Hear Subtle Shifts in Demand

The pandemic’s disruption was unprecedentedly severe, but it wasn’t just a one-off. The knock-on effects of the surprise Russian invasion of Ukraine have once again upended the traditional ways companies use to predict supply and demand trends to set pricing for different customer segments.

Looking long-term, climate change will have an unpredictable impact on travel demand. This dynamic was underscored by Microsoft’s announcement last week that it would more stringently cap the company’s contributions to carbon emissions — with business travel an implied target for restraint.

Higher volatility presents an opportunity to travel companies that are more nimble at spotting and responding to signals that predict shifts in demand. The consultancy has touted what it calls “bionic revenue management,” which it describes as a blend of computer-generated predictions with human judgment and an analysis of historical, forward-looking, and non-travel market signals. It also touts the use of data lakes, or customer data platforms.

Operational planning need to be faster, too. Guggenheim cited the example of airlines. In the past, airlines might have taken up to 180 days in advance to plan their networks, schedule flights, and assign fleets. But given the increasing volatility, airlines need to be able to toggle supply up and down much faster.

Across travel verticals, data-savvy can give a company a hedge in cases of volatility, widening a performance gap with its rivals.

“Companies need to be more reactive without human brute force,” Guggenheim said, urging businesses to fine-tune their workflows. “Historically, when a change was needed, it took a lot of human hands to push that change through the businesses, such as for repositioning aircraft or ships. Now with the use of technology, you can become less reliant on a lot of people making things happen.”

Source: Skift

Africa’s aviation recovery is well underway, and traffic in the region is picking up fast. International traffic is rebounding, although not to the same extent as domestic, and airlines are busy once more. Despite a later reopening than some parts of the world, African aviation is on course to recover to 2019 levels within the next 18 months, all being well.

Speaking to Jon Howell, CEO of AviaDev, for his Africa Insight podcast, Geert Lemaire, market intelligence and consulting director at Airbus, shone a light on the planemaker’s outlook for the region, and its demand for airplanes. One airplane from the Airbus stable is a clear front runner for new orders, and it’s the post-pandemic golden child, the Airbus A220.

Africa is set for significant growth

Airbus’s latest market outlook, issued in November last year, anticipates a recovery for the African air transport market in late 2023. From there, it’s all up, as the planemaker projects annual growth of traffic of 4%. To support this growth, Airbus believes 1,100 new planes will be needed in Africa, just 30% of which will be replacements for existing aircraft, while 70% will go towards growth.

In terms of what airplanes will be needed, Airbus has been firm in its outlook. Over 800 of the 1,100 new airplanes will be in the ‘small’ aircraft category – that is, aircraft of 100 – 220 seats. That’s all of the A320 family of jets, as well as the Airbus A220.

Driving this growth is the move in Africa to adopt a more open and freer environment. Free trade, free movement of people and the ever-elusive Single African Air Transport Market (SAATAM) will bolster demand, as will rising populations, GDP and wealth in many African countries.

Discussing where growth will happen, Lemaire noted,

“There’s two kinds of growth … we have, first of all, organic growth, which is simply the growth of the networks as they exist today – traffic picking up on the routes that are already served. Next to that, and where we actually see a significant potential, especially for the A220, is indeed the creation of new routes.”

Unserved city pairs

Airbus does much research into where there is the potential for more aviation activity. Part of this research looks at unserved connections, where passenger demand already exists but is not served by a direct flight.

Lemaire sees a huge amount of this in Africa, particularly in regional flying, with pre-COVID intra-African connectivity hovering at about 12% of the overall traffic contribution. By 2040, Airbus believes this will rise to 20%, and it’s these unserved city pairs that will drive that increase.

“What we typically find is, indeed, city pairs connecting cities in South Africa to West Africa, between South Africa and the eastern part of Africa, and also to a smaller extent between West Africa and North Africa. So we have city pairs, for instance, Johannesburg to Abidjan, Cape Town to Accra, Cape Town to Lagos, Cape Town to Zanzibar – to just name a couple of them – which clearly show the potential for the development of future direct routes, but that, unfortunately, today are not served yet.”

In the past, routes calling for six hours in the sky typically attracted the widebody segment, in a bid to give passengers more comfort on the long flight. But these unserved city pairs do not have the demand level to support a 300+ seat aircraft.

Airbus believes that the A220 is the perfect fit for launching some of these underserved routes, and connecting these in-demand city pairs in a logical, step-by-step manner. Lemaire noted,

“[The A220s] have the performance to serve these kinds of routes. They have definitely the comfort onboard, because the comfort you find on an A220 is typically what you get a widebody aircraft, or even better. As such, we certainly have a lot of opportunities to open these routes. You don’t have a massive capacity, and you can serve these routes on a decent frequency.”

Lemaire mentioned the ‘route planner’s mantra’, which is to add frequency before increasing capacity. When the time does come to increase capacity, he believes the pairing of the A220-100 and the A220-300 will allow African operators to scale up in a gradual, manageable way.

To hear more from Airbus and other OEMs on the future of African aviation, don’t miss the AviaDev Africa Route Development Conference 2022. Taking place in Cape Town from June 29th to July 1st, this is the sixth edition of the conference where airlines and airports get together to collaborate and make changes for a better-connected Africa. Head to the website for more information.

Source: Simple Flying

If you feel like everyone is on vacation without you right now, you might be right.

The data shows travel is surging — despite high plane-ticket prices — as many countries loosen their COVID-19 restrictions and reopen borders.

Analysts say vacation-starved Americans are making up for lost time during the pandemic, and there’s even a new term for it: revenge travel.

Here’s what’s happening and what you should know if you want to join in.

What do the numbers show?

The short answer is that everything is going up lately: airfares, fuel costs and trips taken.

Travel insurance company Allianz Partners analyzed more than 40,000 trip itineraries planned for this summer and concluded that American travel to Europe will jump 600% from last year.

This sharp uptick is not limited to Europe. This month during an industry conference, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said that “demand is off the charts,” while the airline industry is struggling to keep up.

This boom is yet another consumer reaction to the pandemic, said Steve Trent, a research analyst for Citi who focuses on airline travel.

“Maybe 18 months ago, everybody wanted to buy a Peloton because people were still locked up, and now we’re kind of in a different phase of the pandemic,” he said, noting that infection rates were rising but hospitalizations hadn’t reached the levels of previous waves.

So now, people are buying airline tickets.

“There’s a shift from consumers purchasing goods to consumers purchasing services.”

He said the data shows the prices of tickets sold so far for this July were 35% higher than tickets sold in July 2019 (the last summer before the pandemic started). Meanwhile, the industry as a whole isn’t operating at the same level as it was before the pandemic. Fewer flight routes, fewer crew members and less equipment mean that capacity is down 15%, Trent said.

What exactly is “revenge travel”?

There’s no dictionary definition yet, but industry professionals say the term “revenge travel” is starting to catch on.

They broadly describe revenge travel as a huge increase in people wanting to make up for time and experiences lost to the pandemic.

Eric Hrubant, the owner of CIRE Travel, a luxury travel agency in New York City, said that while the idea of travel as revenge didn’t necessarily resonate with him, he saw it more as an attitude within the customers.

It’s a proclamation of “Screw you, COVID, I can travel and I’m going to,” he said. In his own words, Hrubant describes it as “revenge against ‘rona.”

If travelers have any animosity, it might be toward the idea of staying home this summer. Hrubant, who has been in business for nine years, said the past few months have been the busiest he has ever seen, given the mix of limited staff, limited contacts abroad and plenty of new customers.

What should you keep in mind?

If you’re one of those people who wants to get out and see the world, Hrubrant’s advice is to stay realistic.

“I’m definitely a person who should promote travel. But I would say if you haven’t planned your trip to Europe for July or August, forget it,” he said.

Hrubrant said that if you are set on that European fantasy trip, try to wait until September or even October. That way you’ll get a much better value, you’ll deal with fewer crowds and you’ll have a much wider variety of options for where to stay and what to do.

He also suggested keeping an open mind about where you might want to go. Many countries in South and Central America, as well as parts of Asia, have slowly started reopening.

“This also could be the time to maybe do something more adventurous, where it’s still not overrun with tourists,” Hrubrant added.

His final tip: Remember that everyone has had a rough past few years. Trying to return to normal has put a lot of stress on the fewer workers in the hospitality industry.

“Everyone is beat down and overworked right now,” he said. “Be nice, be patient and just know that you’re gonna have the best experience if you go into it with the best mindset.”

Source: NPR