Due diligence
Aneighbor of mine likes to talk travel. When I saw him one morning last week, the subject of Africa came up, and he said he really wanted to go to Egypt. He asked if it was safe. I told him we had sent two reporters there since the change in government last year, and that they had loved it. They felt safe
enough, and there were no crowds.
“Yeah, but have the ships returned yet?”
he asked.
That was an interesting reaction. Not
“What does the State Department advisory say?” or even “Are tour operators going
there?”
exandria, respectively, later this month. And
they and other lines indicate calls to Egypt
are on the schedule for later in the year.
The cruise industry, it appears, is mixed
on the question of Egypt’s stability.
In his mind, the measure of a country’s
visit-ability could be judged by
whether cruise ships called at its
ports.
As regards Egypt, it’s probably
as fair a measure as any, given that
country’s historical attractiveness
as a cruise destination. At any rate,
it’s certainly a better measure than
whether a reporter is willing to
visit.
Coincidentally, in last week’s Travel Week-
ly, we reported that Oralia Rice Rodriguez,
secretary of tourism for Sinaloa,
the state where Mazatlan is locat-
ed, challenged several cruise lines’
assertion that safety concerns had
motivated them to skip the port.
She insisted it had more to do
with economics: It’s cheaper, she
said, for the lines to spend an-
other night in Cabo, and that was
the real reason they had struck
Mazatlan from their itineraries.
Of course, if expense is the
true reason cruise lines are skip-
ping Mazatlan, her pointing that out is not
likely to win back the business. But raising
the issue provides her with an opportunity
to make the point that no guests on cruise
ships visiting Mazatlan have been killed, and
Arnie Weissmann
And now that I’ve done a little
research, next time I see him I’ll
mention that although Azamara
Club Cruises and Royal Caribbean International last week canceled calls in Egypt
through July, it appears from Silversea’s and
Princess’ websites that they will still be calling at the Egyptian ports of Safaga and Al-
Editor in Chief
that steps have recently been taken to further
strengthen security for visitors.
now in Mexico might overcome any residu
nervousness.
Realistically, many considerations go into
whether a line decides to call at any given
port. Costs, security, port facilities, concessions and guest demand are all part of the
equation. As it turns out, Princess and Holland America have reinstated Mazatlan for calls
later this year. (In making
those announcements,
both lines were careful to
add that they’re continually re-evaluating security at ports of call.)
If not, even if the clients ultimately woul
have a good time there, they’ll miss out o
the happy anticipation of an upcoming tri
an important aspect of leisure travel th
might last longer than the trip itself.
FROM THE WINDOW SEAT
How can a travel agent judge whether a
destination is truly safe? Due diligence on
destination security is not an exact science.
Reading the (sometimes politically motivated) State Department advisories is often like
reading the boldface warnings on cigarette
cartons. The notices for some countries all
but say “travel kills.” Yet handing these cautionary statements to clients is considered
among the best protections a travel agent
has against lawsuits.
To sharpen your ability to read a client
tolerance for risk, familiarize yourself wit
the allocentric/psychocentric traveler mod
developed by the late, great travel research
Stanley Plog. Type “Stan Plog allocentri
into Google and then click on the “Touris
and Culture — Google Book Result” link.
Much of the article that comes up is a b
academic, but the definitions of allocentr
and psychocentric, as well as the charts o
“Travel Characteristics of Psychograph
Types” and “Travelers’ Motivations,” are en
lightening.
It’s my belief that the real due diligence
should be done on a client’s temperament
and tolerance for risk. For instance, by all
means show hesitant clients Travel Weekly
.com’s map of Mexico outlining exactly
where State Department warnings apply
(travelweekly.com/mexicomap), but also
evaluate their reaction and whether, in your
judgment, the unusually high value available
It turns out that destination due diligen
hinges as much on internal geography
physical geography. For travel agents, it
ultimately as critical to understand comfo
zones as danger zones.
Email Arnie Weissmann at aweissmann
travelweekly.com and follow him on Twitt
at twitter.com/awtravelweekly.
