As the world comes back online, so too has our desire to travel. In fact, according to recent Travel Weekly survey, nearly 66% of LGBTQ respondents said they’d take one overnight trip and 42% are planning longer excursions this year. As ever, our community is leading the charge for change. But, much as we’d like to pretend we are post-COVID, reality is attention must still be paid.

And, that attention is best coming from a Travel Advisor. 

State-by-state, country-by-country restrictions and limitations have been put in place. The questions of where and when to go, what to do there and whom to see will be an ever-changing set of answers that we will not be able to sort out on our own, no matter how adept you are at reading your preferred airline’s website, the fine print on HotelsTonight and the legalese on the US State Department site. 

Lest you think the travel agent, now advisor, disappeared when Kayak and similar digital services came online, this travel specialist field continues to thrive. And, in these times, the travel advisor should again become a fixture in all of our travel planning. Not only because of the access to experiences and information they provide, but because of the expertise they will bring and the time they will save you in planning travel today. Because, one thing is for certain, travel won’t return to what it used to be, so we should return to having a travel advisor. Let us explain why further. 

Working with someone who lives and breathes travel on the daily is invaluable. Travel advisors are first-hand experts in where to go, what to see, and how to get there in a manner that no amount of Instagram following can measure up to. However, bringing the travel ideas you’ve gleaned from scrolling through Instagram is exactly how a travel advisor wants to work: take your ideas and, with their expertise, turn them into reality.

But, in addition to helping you devise your dream vacation, working with someone who will also know which and how airports, airlines, hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, and vacation rentals are adhering to health and safety protocols, will help ensure the dream vacation remains so. 

A travel advisor is your expert for minimizing the risk and complexity out of travel. 

Remember the time your flights were canceled and Expedia could do nothing for you… because you couldn’t reach an actual person? That would never be the case with a travel advisor. 

Based on long-standing relationships among the airlines, hotels, restaurants, tour companies and more, your travel advisors have designed an itinerary that they are truly connected to. At any point, they are best poised to help remedy a situation gone awry. A situation that in these “Corona times” could include experiencing sub-par safety standards or the need for immediate health support. 

A travel advisor is your partner in advocating for your travel rights. 

Upgrades, insider access, one-of-a-kind experiences are all within reach through a travel advisor. Your travel advisor’s years of building relationships with travel suppliers are all brought to bear on your behalf and in service of the vision you have for your vacation. It is worth dispelling here that travel advisors are not in the business of “pushing” particular suppliers, itineraries or experiences. Their business is to construct your ideal travel experience. 

And, for the foreseeable future, all of our travel experiences are going to be limited or curtailed in some manner. Thus, having someone alongside us to plan an itinerary that makes the most of new travel norms, will be essential. There is no amount of poking around the Internet that will replace the valued and expert time travel advisors put into building their expertise and their network. 

A travel advisor is your partner in making your travel experience the most memorable it can be. 

The savings you perceive to be making when planning all your own travel is likely far less than you think. Between change fees, handling your own mishaps, missing out on value or experiences you weren’t savvy to, all adds up. And, let’s not forget the value of the time you save by relying on a travel expert. 

In this day and age of Covid-travel, an age that is still defining itself, you want every penny you spend to be on the itinerary you’ve planned and made time for and avoid spending any time on Covid-related issues. 

And, while you will pay your advisor a fee--much the way you do your trainer and lawyer--reality is that most of their earnings are commissions paid by the travel purveyors they book for your itinerary. But, again, no matter the fees you pay, it will be worth the cost and the time saved.  

A travel advisor maximizes the value of the time and money you spend on traveling.

As we take our first journeys around the Covid-travel world, having the partnership of a travel advisor will be more valuable than ever. You can’t put a premium on the experiences they’ll make possible, nor the safety they will help provide. Travel trends will come and go, but going forward, a travel advisor will be a requirement for traveling the post-Covid world.