As someone who has a travel business, I can vouch for the fact that "peak travel" is a very real thing and the current downtrend in travel for leisure is no passing fad but now simply a permanent part of the landscape we call modern times.
Of course, folks with sail boats can pretty much go wherever they want to and, as tours, cruise ships, and cheap air travel become a dim memory, we might actually be appreciated for a change. What was I saying about silver linings?
A lot of us who as kids used to sit in front of the B&W TV and watch "Adventures in Paradise" with its welcoming islanders coming out to greet the Tiki and it's crew is one of those seeds that grew to become what is now known as cruising. Though you'd hardly know it with its too often unwelcoming officials and red tape which seems more designed to keep sailing folk from visiting rather than welcoming sailors and their money a happy stay.
The coconut telegraph tells me that there is already a shift in where people are cruising... The Caribbean, once the premier destination of cruising folk, is now less so and I keep getting notes from Ushuaia, SE Asia, and other far flung ports that have never even seen a bareboat and actually appreciate sailboats coming for a visit.
That said, shifting from the tourist routes to something a bit different (dare we call it... adventure?) brings a whole new mindset to bear and one that does not easily include such things as cruising rallies, air-conditioning and boat folk who need to jet home on a regular basis...
I just may need a thicker wetsuit
though...
