Nothing Stays The Same…..
by Claudia White, Ph.D.

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September 11, 2001 started out as just another ordinary day in our lives. By early morning, we knew that it was no ordinary day. How many of us would have thought that our lives and the way we see the world would change overnight! The tragedy not only destroyed buildings, it destroyed lives and how we look at the world of travel.

A not so average Tuesday morning touched the travel industry in a way that few of us could have ever imagined. It has paralyzed how we view travel, how we view safety, and how we view each other. For those of us involved either directly or indirectly with the travel industry we find ourselves in awe over all that has occurred in relatively short period of time. Just like the friends and families of the victims, we too are suffering from post-traumatic disorder; we have seen something outside the realm of normal human experience. We have witnessed our life’s work, our passions, our careers, and our dreams diminished or vanished like the dust of fallen buildings. Hotels all over the world have seen a dramatic decrease in guest occupancy, airlines have fallen along the way, they too have light load factors, travel agents have seen trips cancelled and meeting professionals have had conferences cancelled and postponed, taxi-drivers have no passengers, even some trains are running with less than normal passenger loads, and airports all over the world appear deserted like ghost towns.

There is one sure reality from the events of September 11, nothing stays the same! As leaders and participants in the travel industry, it is left to us to pull our industry back from its state of disarray. It is up to us to look deep within ourselves to challenge and overcome all adversities. "Only the strong survives!" We can and will survive. It is up to us to help to make our airports safe, to encourage people to travel and to educate them about traveling wisely. As travel professionals we must work together for the good of the greater cause. We must plan and strategize about ways to help our clients to move forward with their lives. Traveling is a way of life in today’s world. It is not an option; rather it is a means of connection and ultimate survival. We travel for business, for pleasure or just for the heck of traveling. Nothing remains the same, nor can it return to the past, new rules must be created because the world of travel is now different.

So, what are the new rules? The new rules involve a re-education about what to pack and what to leave at home. It involves a need for every traveler to be acutely aware of their surroundings and for a decrease in air-rage by frustrated or ego-centric travelers. It should include a basic respect for all human being regardless of race, religion or Cree. It calls for personal responsibility of all travel professionals to acutely evaluate clients and determine whether or not a person is ‘travel worthy’. It so calls for a responsibility on the part of the traveling public, of the governmental travel rules and regulations and of the airlines to create new strategies to protect passengers. As survivors, we must be ingenious and creative to become victors and move on with our lives. Like seasons, nothing remains the same!