Pent-up demand: Travel agents busy as Maritimers take advantage of relaxing COVID-19 rules

Travellers make their way to the security area at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

At the Halifax Stanfield International Airport Friday, the popular departure destination of the day was Cuba.

That’s where Diane Florian was heading, after staying close to home for the past two years.

Florian said she was looking forward to her long-awaited trip.

“The sun, the beach, just getting away, starting to get back to normal,” she said.

She’s among a growing number of Maritimers taking advantage of easing COVID-19 travel restrictions, which began after the federal government lifted its advisory against non-essential travel in February.

As of April 1, fully vaccinated travellers will no longer have to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test to enter Canada.

“We didn't know this ahead of time, we knew we were going to have to test,” said Eric Artz, as he waited with a group of friends at the airport to also head to Cuba.

“But then they changed the regulations, so by the time we get back we'll be all good,” he said.

Travellers must still wear masks in airports, and on flights, however. The Public Health Agency of Canada also says travellers may be randomly selected upon arrival in Canada for a COVID-19 molecular test.

Those who are not fully vaccinated are still required to be tested on arrival, and on day eight during a 14-day quarantine.

The increased traffic is good news for the airport — where more services, such as restaurants and increased parking, are returning.

Airport authority spokesperson Tiffany Chase said while the frequency of flights is still at around 30 per cent of what would have considered the norm back in 2019, she anticipates that will slowly recover.

“Incrementally as more people start to travel, the airlines will feel confident, reintroducing routes, and we'll see those frequencies of the flights continue to increase as well,” Chase said.

Halifax resident Chelsea Coffin recently went to Cuba with her family and just returned on March 17.

“We did it, we booked it, no hesitations, if anything, we were just so excited,” she said.

Before the pandemic, her family routinely vacationed down south. This trip was their first time back since the first travel restrictions were introduced.

“It was so happy,” she said, “to see smiling faces, to see other people, to see international travellers, and even the people working at the resort were just so elated.”

Some travel agents say they’re the busiest they’ve ever been in the past two years.

“People really do have the travel bug. They really want to get away,” said TravelBug travel consultant Kelly Neonakis-Morash.

She says sunny destinations are proving to be the most popular and travellers are making up for lost time.

“They're willing to actually invest a little bit more in their travel as well,” she said, “and some are going a little bit longer than they normally would, not the typical seven days, we have a lot of requests for 10 to 14 days.

After grinding to a near-complete halt, the travel industry is now playing ‘catch-up’, and industry experts said the increase in demand means booking early is a must.

“There might be some delays, there might be some capacity issues,” said Stephen Olmstead of CAA Atlantic, “for example, some hotels may not be offering 100 per cent accommodations, it might only be 50 per cent, and then building back to 70 per cent.”

Travel consultant Kathy Deagle of GowithHippo Travel said prices are also more expensive than they were before the pandemic, with rising fuel costs a major factor.

“A trip that I might have booked three years ago, and I know times have changed, might have been $1300, $1400, now is $1900.”

Deagle — who recently went to both Dominican Republic and Florida, stressed it is important travellers know the COVID-19 rules for their destinations, as well as their departure country, as regulations continue to change around the world.

She said it’s also important to fill out the ArriveCAN app, and have the proper documentation required by the destination country ready.

Deagle also advised travellers to keep something else handy.

“You know the biggest thing to pack?” she said, “is patience.”

Her final word of advice for those eager to travel once again in an industry changed by the pandemic.