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Home / CRUISES / FAMILY CRUISES / Shoulder Season Travel Has Changed Due to COVID-19, but Here's How to Keep Track of Those Deals

Shoulder Season Travel Has Changed Due to COVID-19, but Here's How to Keep Track of Those Deals

2022-10-30  Maliyah Mah

Instead of just a few strictly defined periods, you might be able to locate travel offers all year long in a post-pandemic world. How? Read on.

international tourist
 

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) indicated that international tourist arrivals decreased by 74% in 2020 compared to the previous year. Amazingly, compared to 2019, 1 billion fewer individuals traveled. And that makes sense. The COVID-19 outbreak, which the UNWTO reported caused an estimated loss of $1.3 trillion in export revenues, was too much for the tourism sector to handle. An industry with an estimated 319 million workers worldwide has been affected by it. Even though there are encouraging signals (and indications that travel will soon be booming again), the exact times that people travel and when they can find the best rates may change for good.

While the majority of vacationers book their trips whenever it suits them, wise and experienced travelers will frequently attempt to visit a place during its shoulder season, sometimes known as the period shortly before or after a significant tourist influx. It's the season when travelers can get huge savings and when there might be more room because fewer people are making the journey.

However, given that many people can work from anywhere, at any time, and that many people choose to visit regions with fewer crowds to reduce their health concerns, others argue that the epidemic may have permanently changed the shoulder seasons of popular destinations. The New York Times even said that Montauk's off-season was "almost dead" due to the volume of visitors during the winter months.

But hold on, there might yet be a chance for a low-cost, off-season vacation.

The pandemic has had some effects on some of the historically available offers, but Scott Keyes, proprietor of Scott's Cheap Flights and author of "Take More Vacations," told Travel + Leisure that the notion that deals during shoulder seasons are no longer available is untrue.

What is the primary factor that suggests shoulder seasons may persist despite the dramatic change to digital offices? calendars for schools. Numerous kids still need to go to school in person or at least online during normal hours, which limits the times that families are willing or able to travel and will therefore continue to have a big impact on how vacations are planned."

Because the prices are comparable to peak season prices, shoulder seasons are a good value "Added Keyes. "In July, Europe is never very inexpensive. Finding a deal is typically one of the most difficult things to do. Additionally, May and September often have prices that are at least 50% cheaper."

Shoulder season discounts, according to Travelzoo's senior communications manager Gabe Saglie, aren't extinct. Instead, you might be able to get discounts all year round rather than just during a few strictly specified weeks, which is undoubtedly some welcome news for all tourists.

Seasons used to be more clearly defined a year or two ago, but today pricing is more aggressive year-round, and the seasonal window is much wider, according to Saglie.

In other words, there are still deals to be gained while traveling outside of highly sought-after vacation weeks and months, as colleague Dotdash Meredith editor and Tennessee resident Amelia Edelman recently discovered on her off-season trip to Greece.

Edelman
 

She paid $512 for each coach airline ticket, according to Edelman, for a winter trip to Athens and the Greek islands with her husband and child in January 2022. In comparison, the cost of an airplane ticket can increase by up to 16% during Greece's high season, which normally lasts from early July until the end of August, according to Skyscanner.

And for Edelman, the deals kept coming. The average cost of a night's lodging during Edelman's vacation, combining hotel stays and VRBO stays, was around $40. Their splurge home, which had a private outdoor hot tub and patio, was $120 per night, which is significantly less than its high-season nightly fee.

budget prices Edelman
 

One of the reasons Edelman's family liked the off-season vacation was the affordable prices she found. Being one of the few tourists in town has its advantages because it allowed for more time with the locals of Santorini. Edelman and her family participated in a presentation of historical Greek instruments as well as a workshop where Edelman's son was able to create a pan flute during one particular tour with the Symposium Cultural Center on the island of Santorini. Additionally, because they were the only family present, they were able to interact with one another in a way that was impossible during the busy season.

"When we visited a cultural center in Santorini, the owners welcomed us inside and provided us with meals. Going to a winery and an ouzo distillery was the same experience for us "explained Edelman. It's a very different sensation to be among the few people there as opposed to the crowd.

islands surrounded by crystalline

Naturally, Edelman said, traveling to the stunning islands surrounded by clear waters in the winter had a few drawbacks.

While we were there, there was undoubtedly no swimming, Edelman said. "Furthermore, you won't be able to visit the Greek islands to go swimming and lie on the beach.

bottom line
 

The basic line is that there are still plenty of offers available, but you might need to look a little further than the traditional conclusion of busy travel seasons, at least for the time being. To secure the finest shoulder season rates, you might also need to be flexible about your ideal vacation spot.

Off-peak travel hours are undoubted of greater interest, according to Keyes. "I don't deny that there are marginal differences, but what about the notion that there is no longer a shoulder season? Simply said, I can't see it.


2022-10-30  Maliyah Mah