Travel has been challenging during COVID, but how can family and friend groups get together while getting away from it all?

Seeking alternatives

COVID’s ever-changing guidelines have meant living with frequent changes in our lives. What hasn’t changed is our desire to reunite with beloved friends and family members. Many of us were forced to go longer without seeing one another than we’ve ever had to do before. COVID reminded us of the precious value of time spent together and shared experiences. For months, families were distanced from one another and now want to make up for lost time by going on a shared vacation.

This urge to reunite with our loved ones is coupled with suppressed wanderlust due to the lockdowns and travel restrictions we experienced throughout the pandemic. The result is the increasing popularity of reunion vacations. In a Wyndham Destinations survey, 71% of travelers shared that getting together with friends and family is a top priority for them.[1]

We are family

The pandemic reminded us not to take family gatherings for granted. While we may have once rolled our eyes at the thought of spending hours with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, we’ve learned to relish the chance to reconnect face to face, hug one another, and create new memories. Destination family trips can add an element of excitement to reunions, as relatives explore new places or go somewhere picturesque and remote to relax together. Extended families may even hire a reunion vacation planner to handle the myriad details involved in wrangling a large group with diverse needs and interests and oversee booking details for restaurants and activities.

Reunion travel groups often choose to stay in sprawling villas or adjoining condos, with some using travel companies like Airbnb to book their getaways. Most families agree that separate living accommodations while on group vacations give them some privacy while remaining close to one another. Not all reunion travelers prioritize privacy. Some opt to hold family reunions at lively resorts that offer dining, activities, and entertainment options that offer something for everyone. With so many groups choosing to savor the moment, family resort bookings are on the rise. Another option many groups choose is a nature-oriented trip such as a glamping (glamorous camping) trip. COVID-conscious travelers may feel safer in the open air, making outdoorsy trips an ideal choice for reunions.

Upscale get-togethers

While COVID may have taken a financial toll on some families, others have the extra money in their travel budgets thanks to trips they couldn’t take. They may be eager to splurge on extended, elaborate vacations with more detailed itineraries. They’ve spent time throughout COVID planning an epic post-pandemic getaway. This is a boon to investors looking to gain a foothold in travel stocks and find out the best travel stocks to buy. 

Lavish group vacations are one way reunion travelers are making up for lost time. Groups have taken to booking private houses or villas at their destination, giving them the freedom to get away from it all while spending time together in an upscale, pampering environment. Large, isolated spaces feel safer and more hygienic to many travelers, allowing them to enjoy amenities such as private pools, beautiful grounds, and in-house entertainment.

It’s not unheard of for reunion travelers to hire a coach bus with a driver to transport them from place to place while on their getaway. Travel planners offer reunion packages complete with elements that appeal to all ages, like multi-generational scavenger hunts, home movie screenings, and itineraries based on classic children’s books that appeal to children traveling with their grandparents. A Westin Resort at the Cape Coral Resort Village recently created a new staff role called Chief Reunion Officer, meant to help manage today’s sophisticated group reunion trips.[2]

Bypassing restrictions

While the Omicron variant of COVID continues to impact the travel industry, health experts are hopeful that this latest wave of the virus will peak soon. That’s good news for people hoping to travel by the next major vacation on the calendar, late February’s Presidents’ Weekend.

Some reunion travelers meet up in overseas destinations, opting to visit countries with more relaxed quarantine laws and fewer travel restrictions. In some cases, overseas reunion travel makes it possible to include family and friends who live abroad. Combining a fantasy getaway to another country with a reunion is a dream come true for some and may work well for friend get-togethers for a milestone birthday or a school reunion.

While booking air travel and other arrangements for overseas reunions can seem daunting, travelers often feel that the effort is worth it. They cite beautiful scenery, diverse local cuisine, and cheaper costs of luxury villas in foreign countries among the attractions of an overseas reunion trip.

Making it happen

Would-be reunion travelers may wonder how to pull a big trip together and manage all of the moving parts. While some may hire a travel coordinator, it’s possible to plan a reunion vacation on your own. Starting a chat group for the trip can help facilitate the discussion and keep details in one organized place.

Discuss your location, time, and budget with the other members of your party. You’ll want to know that everyone is on the same page to avoid unpleasant surprises or disappointments.

Plan ahead to avoid hearing that flights, hotels, or attractions you’re interested in are sold out. Consider the different age groups and interests among the people in your group. Keep people informed of bookings and payments they’ll need to make by a certain date.

When booking a trip for a large group, don’t be shy about asking for a discount or incentive from vendors, ranging from admissions discounts to upgrades and more. Plan for a few big group events throughout the trip, but also consider that individuals and small groups may want some downtime on their own as well.

When it comes to a reunion vacation, remember that you’re taking many people’s wants and needs into consideration, and there are bound to be some hiccups along the way. Try to stay upbeat to keep the reunion trip fun for everyone.

Finally, don’t forget to take lots of pictures and videos while on your reunion vacation. Remember that group chat you started for planning your trip? It’s a great place to share those photos with everyone. There may be many things to coordinate, but as seasoned reunion travelers will tell you, the priceless memories make it all worth it.

Important Disclosures:

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change at any time and should not be considered recommendations to buy or sell any security.

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Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. As an ETF, the fund may trade at a premium or discount to NAV. Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. The Fund is not actively managed and would not sell a security due to current or projected under performance unless that security is removed from the Index or is required upon a reconstitution of the Index.

A portfolio concentrated in a single industry or country, may be subject to a higher degree of risk. Specifically, the Index (and as a result, the Fund) is expected to be concentrated in passenger airline, hotel and resort, and cruise industries (“Travel Companies”). Travel Company revenues are heavily influenced by the condition of the U.S. and foreign economies and may be adversely affected by a downturn in economic conditions that can result in decreased demand for leisure and business travel. Travel Companies may be significantly affected by uncertainty in travel, including guest safety, security and privacy, changes in labor relations and insurance costs, issues affecting equipment reliability and longevity, changes in fuel prices, and shortages of experienced personnel.

Beginning in the first quarter of 2020, financial markets in the United States and around the world experienced extreme volatility and severe losses due to the global pandemic caused by COVID-19, a novel coronavirus. The pandemic has resulted in a wide range of social and economic disruptions, including closed borders and reduced or prohibited domestic or international travel. Some sectors of the economy and individual issuers, including Travel Companies, have experienced particularly large losses. Such disruptions may continue for an extended period of time or reoccur in the future to a similar or greater extent.

The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, so it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers. To the extent the Fund is invested in companies of a single country or region, local political and economic conditions and changes in regulatory, tax, or economic policy could significantly affect the market in that country and in surrounding or related countries and have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance. Investments in foreign securities involve certain risks including risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability, and these risks are magnified in emerging markets. Small and mid-cap companies are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than securities of large-cap companies.

CRUZ is new with a limited operating history.

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