This week reaffirmed in my mind that the belief in travel being impervious to harm is worryingly ubiquitous, and no matter how many impediments get strewn in the sector’s direction, too many people seem to feel it will unflinchingly bounce back to where it was before at full throttle.
There’s certainly some truth to the sector displaying an enduring resilience in the face of crises, however it is also a long way off from being one of those inflatable toys that pop back up instantly every time it cops a punch in the head.
Travel is lucky in so many ways, one of those being the spirit of exploration remaining an innate inclination for the majority of the world’s population.
Most of us are hardwired to want to venture out and meet new people and experience different ways of life.
But this instinctive characteristic of humanity aside, most travellers and travel businesses are still vulnerable to being jabbed ruthlessly in the hip pocket.
The European Commission (EC) became the latest group this week to propose slugging travellers entering the continent with a greater levy through the yet-to-launch European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS).
The mooted increase would see the ETIAS tripled from €7 (A$12.50) to €20 (A$36), a hefty rise when considering it hasn’t even been implemented yet.
The EC claimed the main reason it needs to triple the fee is to cover the costs system maintenance, enact technological upgrades, and generally compensate for the rising cost of doing business.
But it strikes me that the EC is not the only one trying to cover their rising costs – the humble traveller they intend to slug is also struggling to do the same.
When the EC appeared to be somewhat surprised by the various rebukes from industry groups around its proposal, so it promptly pointed to the fact that it was simply bringing its entry fees in line with recent prices hikes from other countries like the UK.
Like I tell my kids, don’t point the finger at others when you’re the one in trouble.
That’s the same UK by the way that was slammed for its 60% increase of the recently launched Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), labelled a “staggering blow” by ” UKinbound CEO Joss Croft.
“International tourism is a competitive industry and the two key motivators to visit a destination are value for money and the quality of welcome – this move damages our standing on both fronts,” Croft said at the time.
Closer to home it was Darwin Airport copping heat from politicians and industry groups about its recent decision to more than double airline landing charges.
The NT’s largest hub said the increase was warranted because it needed to cover important infrastructure upgrades and rising operational costs – sound familiar?
So incensed by the dramatic increase was Top End Labor Party Minister Luke Gosling, that he has taken Darwin Airport to the ACCC to challenge its validity.
Not mincing his words, Gosling said it was an “unreasonable cash grab” that would ultimately lead airlines to pass on the higher landing fees to travellers and distincentivise bookings to the Northern Territory.
While inflationary pressures are making life harder for everyone, it seems like an exercise in acute myopia for countries and hubs to simply feel they can dial up the fees to solve the problem.
If it means denting the volume and spend of travellers, then sure this a false economy that bites everyone in the travel ecosystem.
For my two cents, people need to stop treating travel like a bottomless cookie jar, no matter how tempting those bikkies may look to eat.
To other news now, and a new player sailed into the expedition cruise space this week.
Terra Nova Expeditions has opened bookings for its debut sailing in Antarctica this December, and is the brainchild of Greg Carter, who many would know as the co-founder of Chimu Adventures.
Carter’s new venture pledges to make Antarctica more accessible to travellers, offering a much lower price point for voyages on a former mail ship called RMS St Helena.
The 98-passenger vessel has been converted to cater for budget-conscious travellers looking to spend more time ashore and have more destination immersion as part of a smaller group than most competitors.
Time will tell if there is indeed a niche for economy priced sailings of the poles, but with Carter already having some great form on the board with Chimu, it would have to be a brave human to back against him.
In the tech word, two major players have combined efforts to launch a new start-up called DirectBooker, intended to be a major disruptor in the OTA space.
Former TripAdvisor CEO Steve Kaufer and Google Travel boss Richard Holden believe there is scope for hotel to connect with travellers directly through AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini.
By doing this, the duo argued that hotels could offer better rates to consumers and avoid paying OTA commissions.
It was all quiet on the western front in response from the likes of Booking.com and Expedia, with a spokesperson for the latter telling us it was not its place to comment on other businesses.
While publicly there has been no formal comment, I’d like to wager there are some rather robust discussions taking place behind the office walls this week.
And finally, to finish with a very serious tourism debate taking place in Dublin, of course I speak of the bizarre groping of the Molly Malone statue.
For those who may not be intimately familiar with Irish folklore, Malone a quasi-historical Irish figure who was said to be a fishmonger by day and a sex worker by night.
But her statue is needing added protection from local authorities after too many tourists were found to be rubbing Malone’s chest area for luck.
So vigorous was this collective superstitious rubbing, that over time Malone has become discoloured.
As was stated in Travel Daily this week, perhaps even inanimate objects need a #MeToo movement.
And on that obscure note, have a great weekend everyone.
