You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
WASH YOUR VEHICLE<br />
AS OFTEN AS YOU WANT<br />
FOR ONE LOW PRICE.<br />
Sign up now at<br />
Club Members<br />
Save 25% off Detailing!<br />
“After 9/11 people were afraid to<br />
travel, so it was slow even when we<br />
came back,” said Bajoka. “This one<br />
we were shut down and as soon as<br />
the pandemic got easier, people<br />
started traveling. They were like,<br />
‘please get us out of here.’”<br />
Bajoka said credits were extended<br />
until the end of <strong>2023</strong>, contributing<br />
to the high demand this year.<br />
Demand remains high even though<br />
credits reflect the purchase price<br />
of airfare before the pandemic and<br />
customers have to absorb the increase<br />
since COVID, although some<br />
downscaled their destinations.<br />
Fishman compared the travel<br />
industry’s experience to that of<br />
the much-publicized struggles<br />
restaurants faced. Restaurants<br />
had it bad during the pandemic,<br />
but if they had the same experience<br />
that travel agencies did, they<br />
would have had to “take the food<br />
back for every meal they served<br />
for the past six months, un-prepare<br />
the food, put the raw ingredients<br />
on the shelf, get the money back<br />
from the customers, and not talk about<br />
food for the next six months to a year.”<br />
Because travel is booked six to<br />
eight months in advance, not a few<br />
Amira Boka in Israel (left) and with a tour group in the Middle East.<br />
days in advance like going out to dinner,<br />
travel agency employees were<br />
working to get payments back to customers<br />
without being able to book and<br />
receive revenue for future travel.<br />
Despite the challenges and his 40<br />
years at the helm of Cadillac Travel<br />
Group, Fishman said he never considered<br />
retirement. He didn’t want a COV-<br />
ID-created departure to be his legacy.<br />
He also didn’t want to leave his 22 employees<br />
in a bind.<br />
Looking Ahead<br />
The future looks promising for the<br />
travel industry. Bajoka said she<br />
books a lot of group travel and<br />
her typical booking of one or two<br />
30-person groups for destinations<br />
in Israel has ballooned to three<br />
groups of 40, with waiting lists. She<br />
said many of the hotels she works<br />
with in Israel and Europe are advising<br />
her to make bookings for 2024<br />
and 2025, before they fill up.<br />
All of this exploding demand<br />
for travel comes amid not only<br />
continued high prices but understaffed<br />
facilities and poorly<br />
trained service workers. Bajoka<br />
and Fishman spoke of long airport<br />
lines and diminished service quality<br />
throughout the travel industry,<br />
including tour operators, cruise<br />
lines, and car rental companies.<br />
Another thing they agree on is<br />
that buying travel services online<br />
is a risk that many refuse to take,<br />
especially in the aftermath of the<br />
COVID pandemic. It seems there<br />
is nothing like using an agency that<br />
has direct relationships with hoteliers,<br />
airline representatives, and others on<br />
the destination end of travel plans.<br />
Just in case.<br />
<strong>MARCH</strong> <strong>2023</strong> CHALDEAN NEWS 37