Watch above: With temperatures making it feel like -50 at times … Saskatoon residents are getting out of Dodge. Joel Senick finds out where the snowbirds are going and whether the trip had been planned before this deep freeze hit.
SASKATOON – With temperatures making it feel like -50 at times, Saskatoon residents are getting out of Dodge. If you’re tired of extreme cold weather warnings and you have some flexibility, one local travel advisor says it’s not hard to book a last-minute escape to a warm destination.
“We still get people now who say, OK, just get me out of here,” said Shammi Rathwell, a travel advisor with Ixtapa Travel.
“If you don’t mind too much where you go or which hotel you stay in, you can get a really good price.”
Rathwell said destinations in Mexico, Jamaica and Cuba are among the most popular for Saskatoon residents trying to seek refuge from the cold.
“It starts at about Christmas time,” said Rathwell.
“A lot of families like to get away for Christmas and then January, February and then with the break in there, the February break is really popular.”
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Ixtapa has grown during Rathwell’s five years with the travel agency. Customers can now book a getaway with help from one of the agencies roughly 25 travel advisors based in various locations, including Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Estevan and Regina.
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University of Saskatchewan business professor David Williams said some travel agencies have evolved in the face of new technology and the threat of competition from internet-based companies.
“They adapt or die,” said Williams, who teaches at the university’s Edwards School of Business.
“There has been a shake out of travel agents; the number of independent travel agents has gone down.”
Rathwell said that the influx of internet competition has changed the business; advisors have shifted their focus from selling to advising.
“We don’t just say, OK you want to go here, let me book it up for you,” said Rathwell.
“I might work with a client over a week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, a month, to get exactly the right holiday.”
Williams added that person-to-person interaction and trust can influence customers to stick with traditional methods, compared to online measures.
“You can go online, but there’s a risk you may not trust the online reviews, so you want someone who’s been there themselves,” said Williams.
“We don’t need a bank for a day to day personal banking … financial advice is different.”
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