By Spencer Gallichan-Lowe
Some local travel agencies say they have experienced a significant slowdown in business in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
“The entire industry has slowed down since the incidents in the U.S,” says Dan Brennan, marketing director at Go Travel Direct on Elgin Street.
However Brennan says since the implementation of new security measures at airports, business is “very slowly” returning to normal levels.
“People are starting to book again,” says Brennan.
While the early fall is traditionally a slow time for the travel industry, the recent incidents in the U.S. have only exasperated the situation.
Mona Ahuja, vice-president of Suma Travels on Albert Street, says she has also noticed a change since the attacks.
“We have experienced about a 20 per cent drop in business,” she says.
“Many people have cancelled their vacation plans.”
Many customers are also avoiding the continental United States as a transfer point for their journey to Asia and other regions of the world, says Ahuja.
“People feel very anxious about the U.S.,” says Ahuja. “There’s just so much uncertainty right now.”
Ahuja says many people who had previously planned to travel to the Middle East have now put their plans on hold, for obvious reasons.
“The Middle Eastern part of our business is pretty much done because of the attacks,” she says.
But Ahuja says some people are still planning to travel, despite the current situation.
“We get a lot of people who come in and they are willing to ‘take a chance’,” she says. “It really depends on the personality of the person.”
Warna Roa, owner of Let’s Take The Kids Travel on Elgin Street agrees.
“Things are a bit slow right now,” she says. “But many experienced travellers are not planning to make any changes.”
Roa says many travellers, especially senior citizens, are among those who are proceeding with their travel plans despite the current political climate.
“They tend to have the view that they have travelled all their lives and something like this is not going to stop them,” Roa says.
Roa also says some of her other customers plan to “wait and see” before going on a trip.
While Roa says she hasn’t seen a “huge” decrease in business because of the attacks, she says people are being almost “overly cautious” about destinations in the United States.
However, Roa remains optimistic the industry will get out of this current slowdown.
“Later in the season, business picks up because of Christmas and the March break,” she says.