If you had a European vacation lined up in 2020, you were probably doing this just a couple of weeks ago:

Now… you might be feeling more like this:

And if you’re in the tourism industry, the outlook is more or less this right now:

We’re getting cancellations for future tours. I get it — people are scared.

But instead of panicking, I’m trying to channel this:

In fact, my texts this past week have all pretty much read like this:

I could climb under the covers and get cookie crumbs all up in my sheets as I eat and ugly cry. I could spiral over worst case scenarios, spin out about doomsday projections, and put my house on the market, just in case. 

But I’m not going there. 

Because one thing I know with all my heart and parts is: these boots are made for rocking. 

Not that I haven’t drunk my share of WTF cocktails to wash down all the OMGs from the last two weeks. 

I’m a mother wired to care about alll the things. 

If you’re in my life, you’d better believe I care about your health, your feelings, your safety. Whether you’re staying hydrated. Getting enough sleep. Taking your vitamins. 

So I care deeply about my clients. I want them to feel safe and to be safe.

And I care about all the people I employ to serve our clients too. 

I don’t blame my fellow business owners who ARE lying in bed and crying with their cookies. The domino effect is already in full force.

In the last few days, I’ve heard of…

…hoteliers sobbing over the phone. 

…restaurants laying off their staff.

…a friend losing an entire month’s worth of AirBnb bookings within 72 hours.

The trickle-down is HUGE. And if there’s one thing I can say about this experience, it’s that fear spreads faster than any virus.

So I’m in solution mode, fielding phone calls, messages and emails from our clients AND our service providers.

Through our tours, we bring people to Italian restaurants, to their hotels. We fill their bars with happy, chatty clients and everyone has a great time. It’s always a win win.

The reality is, my team and friends in Italy are still drinking aperitivi at the local bar, their children are still playing in the piazzas. Italians like the good life, and the good life continues to go on there.

In fact, here’s a meme that’s gone viral amongst Italians on Facebook this week:

But of course nobody can ignore what we’re seeing in the news every day, nor should we.

One of my business coaches (I love my coaches) gave me this advice once:

Don’t wish things were easier. Wish that you were better.

Ok, sir. Noted.

Large-ass boots strapped on and ready for marching, SIR! 

Where am I going with this email?

Here it is: 

I’ve been serving clients happy memories in Italy for nine years. 

We’re not going anywhere. 

Our season of overnight tours hasn’t begun yet, but we start providing outstanding service to our clients as soon as they book with us. 

Everyone who has cancelled a 2020 overnight tour has gotten their money back. We support and respect anyone’s decision not to travel right now and look forward to connecting again in the future. 

But we also have many guests who have no intention of cancelling. And we’ve heard from several of our blog readers that they still absolutely plan to travel to Italy this season.

We support and respect that decision too, and are here to help them every step of the way.

We are still taking bookings for day tours in Florence and Cinque Terre from May through October. 

We are still taking bookings for overnight tours (spots available in September!).  

We’re still providing fantastic local information, like in our city guides for Cinque Terre, Florence, Venice and Rome. 

And we’re still offering itinerary consults. (Let us look over your itinerary and improve it for you. It’s so much better traveling with insider advice!) 

So if you are still planning on coming to Italy in 2020, we want your business and we’re gonna show you what 5-star service looks like, including generous cancellation policies for your peace of mind. We will take care of you, your family, your friends. We will give you our best recommendations, intel it’s taken us decades to learn. 

My team and I are here to support all of our clients, now and in the future. We’re here for a good time AND a long time. 

I’m dancing in the rain and open to the journey, not just the destination. 

After all, pressure makes diamonds, right? 

Everyone has been through challenges. What’s one challenge you’ve been through and come out the other side of? Comment below, we’d love to hear!

Traveling to Italy independently? Send us an email at ciao[@]italianfix.com with “Itinerary” in the subject line if you’d like to receive details about our itinerary review service. If you have a half-baked itinerary or none whatsoever but would like to create one, we would love your business.

{ 0 comments }