This is no time for wishful thinking.
I should explain: As we gradually put this national nightmare behind us, successful trips for most of you will be built around your travelers, not your tourists. Your travelers are going to go on your trips. Your tourists are going to be wishful thinkers. Because of a booming travel economy the past seven or eight years, you may have had the luxury of filling trips with both types for a long time. But for the immediate future, that won’t be the case.
Our advertising sales department is quick to spot our wishful thinkers. They have to be. Wishful thinkers can eat up a lot of valuable time. Our salespeople spend their time working with people who are serious about spending marketing dollars to reach all of you, our readers.
As your group eases back into travel, you will likely have to do the same. Your travelers have not put their aspirations on hold. They already have a list of places to which they want to go or to which they want to return. They are already figuring out the destinations that will aggressively seek to fill their hotels with guests who will enjoy their cuisine and walk their streets. Those people are going to go with you when the green light flashes.
For your travelers, when the green light flashes, all the Facebooking ceases and the trip planning begins. Sometimes travel is hard, but your travelers know that. They’re ready for it. And they’ll be looking to you for the thumbs-up.
Your tourists, today’s more wishful thinkers, will come around in time. But when this ends, it will be your travelers who fill your trips.
