Canadians weighing risks of lost baggage, weather, illness before trips: ‘Lot of stress’

Travel time is so valuable to people, but it's also expensive, which makes travel a very risky thing to do amid uncertainties, one expert says.

A winter getaway to Mexico ended in frustration and exhaustion for Shannon Dryer after weather-related disruptions delayed her family’s return to British Columbia, sent their luggage astray and highlighted the many ways a vacation can go awry.

The ordeal propelled her to swear off future bookings with WestJet and kiboshed any more Christmas-time trips.

“I don’t think it was worth it,” she said from Port Coquitlam, B.C. “It was just a lot of stress.”

The delay in coming home forced extra costs in pet boarding, airport parking and respite care for her father on top of the added food and accommodation costs in Mexico, she said.

Despite the wanderlust that has gripped many Canadians who postponed travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, observers point to a variety of hurdles that are complicating efforts to reclaim a carefree holiday escape.

Tourism professor Wayne Smith said recent headlines of weather-related delays as well as the rising cost of flights and hotels, hospitality labour woes and ongoing COVID-19 infection fears are forcing many people to rethink how and where they venture and what they can do to mitigate problems if they arise.

“Travel time is so valuable to people, but it’s also expensive. So you put those two things together, travel is a very risky thing to do,” said Smith, a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University.

“All these after-effects are building up and making travel seem less and less appealing to people.”