Virus? What Virus?

Corona what? Covid who?

I wish we could ignore it, but with new updates daily amidst rising death tolls, it’s difficult — and admittedly foolish — to do so. The Coronavirus is on top of my clients’ minds. Your minds. Travel advisors do a lot of traveling themselves, and this is something we are all watching. We know it is frustrating, when you plan that trip you’ve been dreaming of, only to worry about your health and safety if you choose to go (and in some cases, if you’re allowed to go).

I am not a doctor. I am not a lawyer, either. But aside from being a travel advisor, I am a mom and a wife with a family whose health and safety is of paramount importance. We finally booked our dream trip for June. Just about every detail has been taken care of. We are so excited. But…we’re going to Italy – one of the places where there has been an increase in diagnosed cases and extensive media coverage. What to do?

I will share with you how my family is handling our travel plans. First, we have insurance. Insurance is a part of my business I am always uncomfortable offering. Personally, I hate the extended warranties and insurance policies that are always peddled whenever I make a large purchase. However, since I’ve been working in the travel business, I can whole-heartedly tell you I would never travel without it. You truly never know what could arise before or during a trip. So for the insurance, I am thankful. However, insurance does not cover a cancelation just because you’re nervous about contracting a potentially deadly virus. The government would have to prohibit travel to your destination in order for you to file a claim to have all or most of your money refunded.

Regardless of insurance, there are still reasons to be apprehensive to travel. While I am not blind to that, I also know that my trip is too far off for me to take action. Currently, the travel industry is doing the right thing for people traveling during the month of March (and some are making accommodations through April). I will wait and see. As my travel gets closer, I trust that the airlines and travel operators will have my best interest in mind, because my best interest is THEIR best interest.

No one is going to win here. Airlines and travel operators are going to try to be as compassionate as they can be, because when this is over (which we hope will be soon), they want to be remembered as upstanding organizations who tried to help people manage a bad situation. You might lose some money. They definitely will lose money. It’s an unfortunate situation, a world-wide issue, beyond our control. We need to be compassionate travelers as well.

I want to repeat that I am not of any authority to tell you what you should or should not do. Sharing my choices is not necessarily my advice. Many people are anxious about what lies ahead. We all are to some degree, and we will all handle that in our own way. I am here for anyone who wants to weigh the pros and cons, whether I organized your travel or not. Do not hesitate to reach out!