Planning a trip? Here's what Rockford-area industry leaders see for travelers in 2022

ROCKFORD — The local travel industry is breathing a sigh of relief now that the federal government has lifted coronavirus testing requirements for those entering the United States.

Travel agents say they are already seeing in increase in business and signs that international vacation bookings are poised for an even steadier influx.

"Now that they've lifted this, I think it's going to be gangbusters," said Amy Handel-Lawson, owner of Arrow Travel in Davis, Illinois.

Handel-Lawson said even while the rule was in place, hotels did a lot to accommodate travelers, including offering free COVID testing and comping rooms for those who tested positive.

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But, the testing rule — put in place under former President Donald Trump and tweaked by President Joe Biden — presented a challenge for agents when booking international trips. They found some clients were choosing domestic vacations over trips abroad or simply put off traveling altogether.

“It had a big impact on people’s decisions because they could afford to take a week off work, but they couldn’t afford to take a second week off if they tested positive,” said John Sturm, president of Lindstrom Travel in Rockford. “Now having that gone, it’s a whole different situation.”

Even before the U.S. updated its travel guidance, travel agencies were seeing an increase in warm-weather vacations to places like Cancun and an uptick in bookings for Alaskan vacations and cruises. The pent-up demand indicated that in terms of the number bookings, things were moving toward how the industry operated pre-pandemic.

But there are still some factors that make traveling today, more than two years since the virus hit, significantly different.

“It’s a whole different ballgame, the way it is now compared to how it was before,” Sturm said. “Even on cruises, the majority of them require a negative test before you get on the cruise ship. Two years ago, you didn’t have to do anything like that. You just showed up and got on. So, there’s an uncertainty. Are people going to test positive or test negative when they go on vacation?"

Veronika Markgraf, owner of Vacations by Veronika, said many of her clients became fed up with putting off plans, stopped paying attention to the testing rule and started booking more trips six months ago.

“They weren’t going to hesitate anymore about traveling,” Markgraf said.

But, she believes the economy is preventing travel from returning to pre-pandemic levels.

“The price of everything is going up,” she said. “So, I wouldn’t say we are back to pre-pandemic.”

But without the international testing rule, that could change quickly, regardless of inflation. More bookings for the Caribbean, Europe, and theme parks are all seeing increases.

“People are willing to spend more than they would have before,” said Sandra Chu, independent travel agent for Enchanted Travel. “They are looking for special experiences — maybe upgrade to a higher room category to do something to celebrate the fact that they didn’t travel for so long.”

Jim Hagerty covers general news, schools, and courts. Contact him at jhagerty@rrstar.com and @jimhagerty.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford area travel agents excited to get back to normal