In normal times, the travel industry is often rocked by volatile forces—world unrest, health threats, or economic conditions. We anticipate the adrenalin rush when faced with an unexpected situation, and drop everything when a crisis hits in order to respond to travelers comfort, safety and welfare.
The last week has been a test for all of us who had passengers stranded by the volcanic ash covering much of Europe’s skies. Tour operators and travel agents have been working around the clock to get passengers home as quickly as possible. ATA staff and our trusted partner, Premiere Travel, have been working to bring home groups in London and Amsterdam. Our passengers are among the first who departed Europe once the skies cleared.
Katie Schwartzstein, an ATA Tour Manager, gave us a sense of how the Smithsonian Journeys’ Tudor Tapestry group was spending its extra days in London:
“Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we fly.” That’s how I opened Tuesday’s dinner at the Ebury Wine Bar Restaurant (before I knew airspace was reopening), and my message was that we should have fun during our extra time in London and that we would likely be home before long. The evening was a great morale boost and we enjoyed the company of two of Smithsonian Journeys Tudor Tapestry’s historians. One of them, Siobhan Clarke, gave us a wonderful talk at the Banqueting House yesterday morning–her idea, a generous and thoughtful gesture. Participant reactions to being stranded in London varied as days passed, and depended upon how anxious they were about work or missing husbands, children or pets. The Rubens Hotel has been great. Now our numbers are down by more than half, and the saga is coming to a close.”
We believe the silver lining in this otherwise unfortunate situation will be that travelers will appreciate the value in working with travel professionals (vs. internet booking sites) when the unexpected happens. It is a prudent investment to have a skilled advocate working tirelessly for you when loved ones are depending on your timely return from a vacation.
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