Finally, the crisis that erupted from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano appears to have settled. In the aftermath of the natural disaster, Travel Agent organized a roundtable discussion that was spearheaded by several Europe travel industry leaders. Among the various issues addressed was, of course, the consequences of the tourism disaster throughout the sector.
Participating in the panel were Martin Rapp of Altour; Joseph Maniscalco of Auto Europe; Gianna Rivera of Accor Hospitality; Jody Bear of Bear & Bear; Jennifer Rosen of Hurtigruten; Leslie Rotkel of Leaders in Travel, LTD; Robin Fox of Pisa Brothers; Alex Herrmann of Switzerland Tourism; Jeremy Palmer of Tauck World Discovery; Simon Bradley of VisitBritain; Brit Sorensen of Visit Denmark; and The Travel Group's Ruthanne Terrero and Jose Barreiro.
There was an overwhelming consensus that the volcano’s impact made travelers realize just how important a travel agent is, especially in the face of such large-scale problems. It was also mostly
agreed upon that leisure travel was minimally affected. Cancellations did occur, but more often than not people rearranged their plans or rescheduled for a later date. What could have been far more detrimental will actually show up as a minor dip in the rest of 2010.
Find out more of what the panel of experts had to say about Eyjafjallajokull's effects on travel to Europe in the video below and see more of the event in the photo gallery included.