Surviving the Heat Wave

Not sure how it is in your part of the world right now, but New York has gotten slammed with a heat wave that’s quite intense. It snuck up on us, in fact; the day before, it was in the 60s and downright chilly. But then the next day, a wall of heat rolled into town that made it difficult to breathe, move or do anything resourceful at all.

Now in day three of “the wave,” as we’ll call it, I’m realizing how the weather does impact travel patterns. I have no doubt in the world that everyone across New York is contemplating how to get out of here, whether it’s a trip inland to the Poconos to savor some fresh mountain air, or to Canada, where it’s bound to be cooler. In fact, this may be the opportune time for travel agents in the Northeast to suggest clients visit our neighbors to the north. Yes, their dollar is finally somewhere close to being on par with ours, so there’s no automatic discount when you make a purchase, but at least Canada’s currency isn’t devouring ours as many other countries are right now.

It’s ironic. Canada for me has always been in the same category as the Statue of Liberty or the top of the Empire State Building. All are destinations that are incredibly worth visiting, but they’re so close, I take them for granted and instead set my sites on destinations more far flung.  But Canada is an entire country, for goodness' sake, with different cultures and terrain and attitudes and it’s an hour away by plane. I don’t know why I don’t plan more Canadian vacations for myself but I’m certainly thinking of it today, as the temperature soars toward 100 degrees.

My message is really this: look around your nearby environs to see if there are vacation opportunities for your clients who may be shell-shocked over the price of gas and airline tickets. Determine whether you can carve out a nice little excursion for them. Don’t overlook the obvious. Right now, Lancaster County, PA, is running the most appealing ads on television and they’re making it look incredibly easy not only to get there, but to be there. Perhaps it’s time for us all to take a second look and enjoy a good old-fashioned vacation, the type where you don’t have to change planes twice and hand over your hard-earned dollars, only to receive a handful of euros or British pounds in return.

If your clients are aching to leave the country to visit Europe, however, you may be in luck. Tour operators are offering great deals to entice us to travel; they’re also seeking to jump start the next winter travel season earlier than ever before with some great incentives.

For now, however, I’m just going to have to deal with the “wave” that’s rolled through New York, but not for much longer. I’m jumping on a plane in a few hours to head out to California, where I hear it’s in the 70s. That’s downright chilly. I’ll have a full report when I get back!