In it for the long run!
Although 2020 has been a challenging year, Robert Craig, President of Craig Travel, talks to Travel Courier about how the family-run business is focusing on the future… whatever it may look like.
Cover photos: Robert Craig
Tell us a little about Craig Travel and what you do?
We are a family owned and operated travel agency that specializes in escorted tours and cruises designed for seniors. We create and contract our own custom journeys that explore destinations around the world, providing in depth experiences. Last year, 2019, we celebrated our fiftieth year in business.
What have you been focusing on during this time?
Since March this year, when the spread of COVID was declared a pandemic, we have been forced to evolve our focus to reflect the needs and demands of the day. After bringing home all groups that were caught overseas by the pandemic, we had to focus on handling the cancellations of planned and confirmed travel arrangements and arranging refunds from our suppliers and for our passengers. Facing the reality of travel bans and cancelled flights, we had little choice but to cancel all confirmed trips for the balance of 2020. This was a massive undertaking and took well into August until we were able to “clear the books”, refunding virtually all of our clients.
Since then our focus has been on building journeys to fill out our 2021 and 2022 lineups as well as develop new programs for when the demand for travel truly returns. If there has been one positive thing about this year, it is that we have now found the time to complete in house projects that were always put off for another day. Thankfully the CEWS program was extended through the end of 2020, which has allowed us to keep our entire staff on board.
Photo: Andrew Craig
While the past seven months have been extremely difficult and the near future will continue this trend, we are in this for the long run. With a history of over 50 years, we are not going to throw in the towel now. We are extremely hopeful that the end of this pandemic is in sight and we plan to ride it out.
Robert Craig
What kind of products do you have lined up that you think will do well post-pandemic?
It is still hard to know what the post-pandemic world will look like. Will we see health screening at airports? Will the use of masks become more standard in the post pandemic world? What destinations will open up first and how open will they really be? While these are difficult questions there are some predictions we can make. In all likelihood we will see domestic travel return first. Travellers, especially those of advanced age, will feel more comfortable travelling within their own borders in the early stages. Knowledge of our own health care system and proximity to home will both be factors. When more international travel begins to return we will likely see cruising, especially on rivers, return and even increase in popularity. The cruising trend was in full swing and in the long run COVID-19 will only be a speed bump. We will also see limited time events like the Passion Play in Oberammergau see increased demand. Oberammergau in particular is likely to see a lot of demand since it is an event that is only held once a decade.
David Craig (R), CEO and Chairman of Craig Travel, with wife Roslyn.
When are you planning to restart operations? What are some of the biggest obstacles you are facing right now and how are you tackling them?
While we did cancel the balance of programs in 2020, we never officially stopped operations. Of course, the pandemic forced us to close our physical office space, forcing us to work remotely. Thankfully, virtually all our staff were able to shift to working from home. Since August, we have started to return to our office, with limited numbers of staff remaining at home. Like everyone else, we face a number of ongoing challenges. Many overseas suppliers are still working with limited staff – making communications difficult.
Our biggest challenge is getting our clients to book future trips. We have a very senior client base and they are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of this virus. As a result they are extremely hesitant to commit to future travel. To encourage them to book with confidence, we created a booking environment with very limited financial barriers. Our “Book with Confidence” policy allows travellers to cancel with a full refund until around 90 days before departure. At the same time, we are planning trips with small groups and ensuring that our suppliers are complying with all health and safety protocols in place. However, I do not think that we will have much success until a safe vaccine is ready and being distributed to the public both at home and around the world. People need to feel confident that travel is once again safe.
Photo: Robert Craig
How are you feeling about the recovery of the industry?
I am actually extremely optimistic. Travel is a vital and integral part of most people’s lives. For many it is essential for their mental and spiritual wellbeing. With COVID keeping us in our homes and neighbourhoods, I think that we can expect a lot of pent up demand for travel when this is all over. The post-COVID economic landscape is difficult to predict. I think we can expect an economic recovery that lags behind the return of demand for travel.
How’s business and bookings right now? Is anything surprising or interesting?
Business and new bookings are predictably very weak right now. We are receiving a lot of support from our clients and feeling that there is a lot of interest in travel. All the same, there is tremendous uncertainty right now and clients are mostly refusing to commit to new bookings.
How has the current situation changed your marketing strategies?
Marketing has been one of the areas in which we are seeing the most change. Since late April, our marketing has been designed to keep us in touch with our clients, to provide more interesting and in depth experiences and to encourage our clients to interact with us. We have begun doing online webinars and have produced a series of videos and longer online stories. This seems to be effective as we continue to see new interest in our promotions. In the past, our senior clients were less inclined to consume our marketing through digital venues. Social media has always been there but the engagement we experienced wasn’t great. Moving forward, we know that this will have to become our preferred channel and we are developing our marketing to reflect this
Photo: Robert Craig
Do you have any strategies to get through the next few months?
The next few months will prove very difficult, until such time as we start to see our clients committing to future travel with bookings. As long as the government realizes how important financial aid is for this industry (& continue to support us), we will continue as we are – building for the future.
Do you have anything to add?
While the past seven months have been extremely difficult and the near future will continue this trend, we are in this for the long run. With a history of over 50 years, we are not going to throw in the towel now. We are extremely hopeful that the end of this pandemic is in sight and we plan to ride it out.
