Helms also said the rental car shortage may have added to their company’s success as visitors’ interest in exploring travel options beyond picking up a rental car at the airport may have increased.
Tab Borge, owner of Classic Convertible Wine Tours, said his company, which offers cars and tours that he said typically cost twice the hourly amount of other vehicles, has also seen a business boom since the COVID-19 -Infection rates have decreased.
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Other travel agents also said demand seemed to be declining, finding that various ways their companies were unable to operate with pre-pandemic capacity. Omar Steyteyieh, Vice President of Napa Valley Wine County Tours, described the tourism situation as “very hopeful,” saying that the sense of normalcy that came after most restrictions were lifted has done people a lot just looking at the faces of the people Visitor looks at happiness.
However, his company and other sectors of the tourism industry are grappling with staff shortages amid a flood of demand, he said. And the cost of running a tour has risen sharply for a number of reasons, including concierges taking time to book wineries and the cost of wine tasting generally increasing.
Steyteyieh added that while it is a little bit bittersweet to be understaffed when there is a surge in demand, the demand itself is still a positive sign.