How the Hawaii missile error highlighted the need for travel agents
It’s been a busy, somewhat daunting, time to be a travel agent of late, what with the states of emergency around the world, and most recently, the accidental issuing of a missile warning in Hawaii.
Yeah, the poor bugger who hit ‘send’ on that text has already been fired.
But it brought to light something very close to our hearts, and that’s the ever-evolving and irreplaceable role of the travel agent. And in particular what the likes of our major agencies like Flight Centre have to say on this kind of emergency.
Yep, we even scored a sneaky one-on-one with old mate Skroo Turner on this. But more on that in a minute.
A particularly wonderful story from Travel Weekly US shared the lengths one agent went to in order to do as much as she could for her clients who were in Hawaii at the time.
The initial alert broadcasted to the public via their phones, read, “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”
While some officials tweeted that the alert was false about 15 minutes later, it took 38 massive, stressful minutes for the official cancellation of the warning to be sent to mobile phones.
Per TW US, Marilyn Clark, owner of Lighthouse Travel in Huntington Beach, California, worked her little butt off for those terrifying 38 minutes, and many more after that, to provide the utmost support for three separate client groups in Hawaii at the time.
She found out about the alert when one of her clients texted her.
“They were at the pool at their hotel when they received the alert and they didn’t know what to do,” she told TW US, admitting that the hotel staff couldn’t do much to help.
“I told them to get indoors right away and to ask if there was a basement they could go to,” Clark said.
“If not, to go to their rooms and I would contact them again after I got some more information. I also advised them to get on Twitter, which seems to be the best source for quick information, and to turn on their TV if they ended up in their rooms.”
Per TW US, Clark then got in touch with her other clients, helped them find suitable shelter options, before making contact again once the alerts of a false alarm were announced.
“After the false alarm alert, I texted all of them, asked how they were doing, told them to call me if they wanted to talk,” she said. “And to go to the nearest bar and the drinks were on me.”
She remained in contact in the following days, to ensure they continued to enjoy their holidays despite being quite shaken up.
“All of them know they can text or call me if they want to talk, and I will be following up with them when they get home, which I always do,” Clark told TW US.
And as supportive as Clark’s work was, she is most definitely not the only agent who was doing what they could for scared clients in Hawaii on January 13.
Speaking to Travel Weekly Australia, Flight Centre boss Skroo Turner revealed what his agency’s protocols are in this kind of emergency.
“In essence, when an issue arises that has the potential to affect our people and customers the crisis people communicate key information. This includes supplier policies for booking amendments, tips and FAQs.
Thankfully, Hawaii doesn’t seem to have been too severely impacted by the false alert.
In a statement, the Hawaii Tourism Authority confirmed to TW US that there had been “little to no impact in travel demand for the Hawaiian Islands in these first few days following the false alert”.
CEO George Szigeti said, “We are monitoring this situation closely and maintaining continuous contact with our tourism marketing partners in 10 global travel markets.
“Thus far, just a small number of concerns have been reported by travelers or travel trade professionals in these markets about coming to Hawaii.”
Per TW US, he added that travel partners are “understandably angry”, however are yet to report any out-of-the-ordinary cancellations since the event.
“Tourism can be a fragile industry and the confidence of travelers in booking trips can be shaken by an incident like this,” he said.
“Fortunately, in these first few days, the impact on travel to Hawaii appears to be minimal, if at all.”
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
137 Pillars Hotels and Resorts hawaii missileLatest News
Collette goes off the beaten track with Canyon Country tour
To be clear TW is not advocating actually walking off the beaten track. Avoid the coyotes. Stay on the beaten track.
Intrepid & Korean Tourism Organisation team up to give agents a cooking masterclass
These guys learnt that Korean cooking is more than just putting kimchi on 2-minute noodles (as we once thought).
Winner, winner! Intrepid reveals the 9 lucky agents that won $2k
Who won the incentive? Which Intrepid trip will they spend it on? What day of the week is it again? Where am I? Huh?
Corporate Traveller reports 42% increase in Easter traffic this year
Business travellers just love Easter! Expect plenty of chocolate stained documents returning to the office on Tuesday.
Turbulent year wiped $384m off Qantas brand value: Report
Meanwhile, eating tuna at your desk can damage your own personal office brand value by several thousand dollars.
FAMIL: Room-Res & Singapore Tourism Board shows agents the Lion City’s roar
Click this article to see a man very impressed by a 20-layer chocolate cake. We're not kidding, he loved it!
Oceania Cruises offers sailors free pre-cruise hotel stay
Looking for ways to make your holidays as long as possible? Look no further.
Bonza launches new website to compliment app, agent portal
Does news about an airline's website fill you with ecstasy, glee and joy? Get your hit of the good stuff here.
MTA agents attends ‘Lunch ‘n’ Learn’ with AMA Waterways
When organising the event, Lunch 'n' Learn beat out Dinner 'n' Divulge and Breakfast 'n' Banter. Understandably so.
Travelmarvel reveals 2025 South America tours
If you spot any typos in the newsletter today it is because TW became distracted Googling images of Machu Picchu.
Tourists from 5 countries could be BANNED from visiting Australia
Anthony Albanese's immigration laws could impact tourism from certain countries.
Just how many passengers will Qantas & Jetstar hop around this Easter?
Airline workers are ready for gleeful Easter travellers! Also prepared for sticky children with chocolate on their face.
Air New Zealand gets ready for bumper Easter weekend
Air NZ gears up for travelling passengers this Easter, while TW looks to beat our egg eating record. 117 here we come!
Four Seasons Yachts reveals first itineraries to the Caribbean & Mediterranean
These trips look so good we wish there were five seasons! Alright, we'll see ourselves out...
FAMIL: Travellers Choice treats top agents to the wonders of Rotorua
This one's got plenty of famil pics and no one looks shockingly hungover in them! Clearly no TW staffers were there.
European Waterways celebrates 50th anniversary with week-long founders cruise
Plan on celebrating your 50th anniversary with a bottle of Moët and fairy bread? European Waterways has better ideas.
100th route! Jetstar celebrates the launch of Brisbane-Avalon with 12 hour sale
Jetstar knocks a ton and celebrates with a sale while TW once scored a ton and celebrated with about 17 beers.
Record-breaking year for NSW as visitor expenditure soars past $50 billion
Enjoy running round the Opera House? Be prepared to elbow even more tourists out the way.
Norwegian Cruise Line makes play for solo travellers
NCL ensuring you don't have to go trawling Tinder to find a cruise partner. Thank goodness, we were sick of catfishing.
Entire Travel Group’s Canada and Europe 2024/25 brochures are out now
Entire's new brochure is bittersweet; it both informs your clients and makes you envious of the holiday they'll take.
Malaysia Airlines adds 3 new destinations & A330neo seats
More seats means cheaper airfares and more money to spend on overpriced airport sandwiches. Woohoo!
Two divine days onboard Crystal Serenity
It's only pure serenity onboard this ship. Anxiety, agitation and anguish have been rejected by the bouncer.
How the Globus Family of Brands elevates coach touring: Travel Weekly TV with Chris Fundell
Chris' here so you don't think coaches mean peeling your thighs off a sticky leather seat every time you stand up!
The Flight Centre Foundation gears up for massive 2024 with 3 new board members
The foundation looks to invest $200k this year, spurring the TW journos to figure out how to qualify as a charity.
Barking Owl Communications to head up Anantara & Avani in ANZ
Fellow PR competitors had been barking up the wrong tree even thinking of bidding for this job!
Amex GBT to purchase CWT for $871m
It's big deals like this that get a firm handshake - hence the sore hands over at the CWT and Amex GBT offices.
1000MTG’s second global conference reminds agents to ‘strive and thrive’
Alongside messages to 'strive' and 'thrive' were those to 'survive', 'drive', 'arrive' and 'jive' (when appropriate).
Qantas A330 makes “loud bang”, pilots forced to shut down one engine
Qantas refusing to let Boeing have all the headlines in aviation world today!
GX Community Tourism Summit 2024 location revealed!
The new location has arrived and it'll blow your socks off! Time for another trip to Target for more socks then.
Visiting the destination my Mum didn’t want me to
Yet again, this journo has been a stress to his mother. Discover how this trip spurred his mother's anxiety here.
Agents come out of their shells at P&O’s turtle hatchery event
For some, it's a few glasses of bubbles to lure them out of their shell. For these agents, it was a bit more literal.
Boeing cleanout: CEO, chair to go as safety crisis plagues the manufacturer
CEOs are falling thick and fast these days. We should have started up a bingo game with their headshots in the office.
Virgin looks to swap MAX 10 order for MAX 8s amid Boeing delays: Reports
Virgin has changed its order for something smaller. Much like we have to at Maccas following a worrying doctor's visit.
Club Med unveils newest luxury yacht for 2024/25 early bird sale
This yacht is preserved for the early birds! Night Owls may also get onboard depending how late they stay up.
Abercrombie & Kent 2024 Asia Portfolio is here
Round up the family and get planning an Asia jaunt. Or, if they're hard to handle, brush them all and go it alone!
Elevate your earnings: Final days to secure double commission with Inspiring Vacations’ March offer
What could inspire you to sell more Inspiring Vacations? Double commission of course! That's all the inspiration needed.