PITTSBURGH — Barbara and Ben Thomas of Churchill are thrilled about traveling again.
After the pandemic canceled their cruise from Norway to the Baltic Sea in 2020, the couple, both 74, recently took European river cruises in October and March. Now they're getting ready for a Viking river cruise in July on the scenic Danube River — starting in Passau, Germany, and ending in Budapest, Hungary, known as the "Paris of the East."
"This is bucket list stuff," Thomas said. "Before we die, we want to do some traveling and see some beautiful cities."
As COVID-19 travel restrictions ease across the globe and more people try to get back to normal by living with the virus, the 2022 summer travel season is shaping up to be a sizzler — as good or better than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Locally, summer bookings at hotels in Allegheny County are up nearly 70% on average compared with last year and area resorts and campgrounds are filling up fast.
At Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia, business rebounded last summer to near prepandemic levels, and bookings are up even more this year. Weekends already are 90% full for the summer, according to vice president of sales and marketing Herb Faulkenberry.
"We rebounded a whole lot faster than we thought we would," said Faulkenberry, who wasn't expecting business to fully recover until 2023.
At the historic Omni Bedford Springs Resort in Bedford County, weekends at the 216-room hotel are nearly sold out, and midweek bookings are strong, said Jennifer Carter, director of sales and marketing.
"People are wanting to travel. They are tired of being home," she said. The resort's amenities are fully open this year for the first time since the pandemic began, including restaurants, spa, pool bar and group activities. Now, the masks are off and "people are excited to be here," she said.
Some experts are warning that record high gasoline prices, soaring airline ticket prices, and high rental car costs could take their toll — and convince some vacationers to choose options close to home or even stay home and check out local attractions.
"My expectations are this is going to be a good summer travel season, but not the great one it should be because it's going to be tamped down because of (high inflation) and the high cost of gas and airline tickets," said John Longstreet, CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association.
"Air travel will start to drop off," he said. "Airline ticket prices are going up because of the high price of jet fuel. This will hurt leisure travel."
For now, expectations remain high.
In a release in early May, the Transportation Security Administration said it was anticipating that airline passenger volumes this summer will match, and occasionally exceed, traffic in 2019 for the first time since the pandemic began.
Even the battered cruise industry is reporting a resurgence in bookings, despite COVID-19 cases onboard. In general, major cruise lines require passengers to be vaccinated and test negative before embarking.
"I think we've gotten to the point where no one expects that they'll go anywhere and be perfectly insulated from COVID," said Colleen McDaniel, editor and chief of the cruise news and review site Cruise Critic.
She said a number of cruise lines are smashing records, "and that's across all kinds of ships, from the small, luxury or expedition vessels to the mega-ships."
Thomas said she and her husband feel safe because they're vaccinated and boosted and because of the precautions taken by the cruise lines. During their trip in October, besides requiring a negative COVID-19 test before boarding, "They had us spit into test tubes every other day to see if we were positive," she said.
She isn't sure yet what the testing protocols will be for her cruise in July, but said now that major airlines have dropped the mask mandate, she likely won't be wearing one. "Who likes wearing a mask?" she said.
Travel agents in demand
At Shadyside Travel in Wilkinsburg, bookings for summer vacations have been brisk, owner Joe Weigler said. "We brought back another agent because we were so backlogged."
After a "disaster" of a year in 2020 during the lockdowns, business started to pick up in the middle of last year, he said. "But this year is even better, just as good if not better than pre-pandemic."
He believes pent-up demand and fewer pandemic restrictions are fueling the surge.
Bookings to Europe, the Caribbean and Mexico are popular again, along with Hawaii. "Last year it was very restrictive getting to Hawaii," Weigler said. "They have lifted all of the restrictions."
On the downside, travelers are facing sticker shock.
"Air prices are higher because of the gas. All of the resorts seem to be higher. I think they are trying to make up for lost revenue the last two years," he said.
His advice for vacationers?
Don't wait.
"In the past, people would wait to book thinking prices would drop. Not only aren't prices dropping, they are going up." In addition, destinations are filling up.
"People who wait are going to end up not getting anything," he said.
At Oglebay, lodging rates are up from last year, partly because of inflation but also because of high demand, Faulkenberry said.
"No question prices are higher. It's tied to occupancy," he said. When demand goes up, prices go up, he said, adding that Oglebay continues to offer mid-week discounts.
Business also is on the rebound at AAA East Central, based in Pittsburgh, which books vacations for people in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, New York and Kentucky,
"It's not quite back to pre-pandemic levels, but it's getting closer," spokesman Jim Garrity said. "More people are asking about options for traveling and getting on a plane, addressing some bucket list destinations that were put to the side the last two years," even as COVID-19 cases in the U.S. surge.
Some top destinations include Orlando and Las Vegas domestically, and Paris, Rome, Dublin, London, Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas internationally, he said.
Still camping out
Closer to home, campgrounds are expecting a banner year. But that's nothing new.
Parks and campgrounds across the country were jammed the last two summers by travelers looking for a way to social distance and still get out.
"A lot of people bought RVs and now they need a place to park. It's something they could do with their families and be safe," said Jack Cohen, president of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau.
He said the majority of the campgrounds in the region — such as Kozy Rest in Harrisville, Buttercup Woodlands near Butler and Bear Run near Moraine State Park — are already 75% to 90% booked for the summer.
Even though vacation choices have opened up, campgrounds remain a draw for people on a budget, he said. "Think about taking a long driving vacation at almost $5 a gallon. That gets expensive."
Pump prices in the Pittsburgh region were averaging a record $4.70 a gallon for regular unleaded in late May, roughly $1.50 higher than a year earlier, according to AAA East Central. And with summer around the corner, prices are expected to continue to climb.
An annual summer travel survey last month by Gas Buddy found 70% of respondents said their summer travel plans had been affected by high gas prices. The majority, 65%, said they would be taking only one or two road trips.
Jerad Bacher, CEO at Visit Pittsburgh, which promotes tourism in the Pittsburgh area, believes this region is poised to benefit from higher gasoline and other travel costs as people look to vacation closer to home.
"It's a positive for Pittsburgh because we have such a large population within 250 miles," he said, adding that hotel bookings in Allegheny County are up an average of 67% for this summer compared to last year.
"There is wider access to vaccines and treatment, so people feel confident in being able to move around more safely," he said.
The most visited attractions in Pittsburgh are the two inclines on Mt. Washington. Other top draws are Kennywood, the Carnegie Museums, Andy Warhol Museum, Carnegie Science Center, Heinz History Center and Phipps Conservatory.
Back to business travel
Longstreet of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association said the good news for hotels in the state is that corporate travel is picking up. That's a big deal, he said, because business travel accounts for roughly half of the hotels' business.
"What we're hearing from hotel operators is that group business is starting to come back," he said.
That's true at the Omni Bedford Springs Resort. "Group business has returned," Carter said. "We should be right in line with 2019 numbers shortly."
As long as face coverings were required on airplanes, companies were reluctant to ask their employees to travel, Longstreet said. Now that the mask mandates have been lifted, the reluctance to hold group meetings is disappearing.
"I go to four conferences a year, and all are back up and running this year," he said.
Bachar of Visit Pittsburgh said he was glad to be back to a more normal work schedule.
"My travel schedule has exploded. I'm traveling for work and personal reasons," he said.
"It's a fantastic feeling for sure."
