Joanne Wilson, owner of VIP Travel in Jackson, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson during its February 22, 2022 meeting. Wilson, who has owned VIP Travel for 25 years, gave club members and guest an update on the travel industry during the pandemic. Wilson said that international travel will not fully recover until 2024. The hotel occupancy is back up to 61% since 2019. The cost of an average domestic trip has gone up from $2,745 in 2019, to $4,428 in 2021 according to Wilson. Cruising is rebounding due to the lessons learned from 2020. The ships are new cleaner and safer. Wilson said that there is a pent-up demand to travel and travelers have become accustomed to COVID protocols and are no longer inclined to change their travel plans. Most international countries require that travelers be vaccinated before entering their country. Half of Americans plan to travel internationally during the next two years according to Wilson. The top three domestic destinations for 2022 are Seattle, Washington; the Florida Keys and Denver, Colorado. The best places for families is Orlando, Florida; Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, Georgia. The top destinations for couples is Maui, Hawaii and Palm Springs and Napa Valley, California. According to Wilson, it is a good idea to use a travel agent due to their knowledge of the industry, connections with the industry and if a problem happens during the trip, you just have to make one call to your travel agent to help solve the issues. Here is the link to the meeting video
https://vimeo.com/681517671. Shown in the photo below from left, Club President Uriel Pineda, Wilson and Wilson's daughter Claire Barwin.
