Dahrlings, our favourite game show is back!
As we all know, travel is a dangerous game. Leaving airline carcasses and commissionless agents in its wake as the rest of us masochists ask the mistress for more.
Then came COVID. The devastation is off the charts. But in some Monty Python’esque upper class twit competition leagues of super victims are fighting for the honour of biggest loser.
In one corner, we have the domestics: the tourism industry claims to be #HardestHit. There’s no question local attractions, festivals, hotels, restaurants, lodges, have a strong case to make. (Oh, and they tagged on ACTA for good measure.) But why the breakaway ‘hardest hit’ campaign? Should your brethren in travel adopt #LessHardHitThanTourism as their motto?
Then there’s the league of corporations, associations, consortia, networks and mom & pop shops dedicated to sending Canadians out of Canada: airlines, tour operators, airports, retailers, and ACTA - all Canadian job holders. With a two week quarantine in place for returning Canadians and the U.S. border closed, a strong contender!
And in the middle, there are the aircraft maintenance workers and pilot unions and such who are organizing a protest on Parliament Hill next week. These folks have a Facebook page. I asked if TAs could join the demonstration and they said they’ll think about it. Perhaps things have changed over the decades and a motley crew of aircraft engineers will carry the day. Back when I was burning my bra, dahrlings, we needed numbers. A big sea of unbound breasts to get our message heard. Are these folks afraid a travel agent will bonk a baggage carrier over the head and make herself the bigger victim? Oh, and no ACTA.
I ask you, Pumpkins, what happened to ‘We’re all in this together’? Now it’s ‘every victim for themselves’. I am frankly appalled at this turn of events. Isn’t it basic math that more is merrier? No... wait. There’s strength in numbers. That’s it.
Now tourism has crowned itself hardest hit and up your cockpit travel! Not only will this confuse Ottawa who doesn’t know its inbound from its outbound (trust me, I once dated a minister), it’s diluting the message. Why aren’t we all joining into one loud super sonic voice? I don’t get it.
#occasionallyhiton
