To our friends in the travel community:
The situation we see right now is somewhat similar to 1988, following the hijacking of the Achille Lauro and Pan Am flight #103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Then, Americans stopped traveling because of terrorist activity in Europe. Within the first two weeks people react and are understandably concerned.
I think the current situation will be the same; however I truly believe that reality will set in. Never in aviation history has there been a safer time to travel than now, with all the safety precautions currently in effect. Once people reflect and understand how safe it is to fly they will want to take the vacation that they've worked so hard for.
There have been a lot of vacation cancellations, and USTOA as an association has no regulatory authority to dictate our individual member companies' cancellation policies. The majority of our members are paying full refunds for travel scheduled between September 11 15. After that, normal cancellation policies may be in force. However, many of our members are allowing affected travelers to credit their payments and reschedule a trip for anytime within the coming year.
We are seeing a spectrum of reactions among the traveling public. There are those travelers who feel it is their patriotic duty to travel, and who refuse to be deterred by threats of terrorism. Other travelers may be motivated by special offerings, while yet others are taking a wait-and-see attitude. Understandably, there are also those who, despite assurances, are afraid to travel.
Tour operators and their partners airlines, hotels, cruise lines and ground operators are assessing the situation. We are confident that there will be a resurgence of travel, and our individual members will do everything in their power to encourage and support travel in the days to come.
Robert E. Whitley, CTC
President
United States Tour Operators Association
