Things were quieter than normal at the offices of Ward Travel in Virden, Man., as September gave way to October.
Early October is the time of year when local sun seekers usually start arriving at the travel agency to plan their winter getaways.
It would be easy to assume the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States had dimmed the desire of rural folk to head south.
But Ward Travel co-owner Sara Curtis suggested something else was at play, namely mild, sunny autumn weather.
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With no snow on the ground and daytime temperatures still managing to climb above 10 C, people around Virden were taking time to enjoy the pleasant Manitoba weather rather than dropping into local travel agencies to plot winter escapes.
“We are really quite convinced that it has more to do with the weather than the Sept. 11 events,” said Curtis.
“It’s not until the weather turns strange, bad or otherwise that people start thinking about winter vacations.”
That is not to say the Sept. 11 attacks went unnoticed by prairie dwellers planning to make trips to southern locales.
California is a popular winter destination for Eric Piper, a farmer at St. Francois Xavier, Man. He was undecided in early October about whether he and his wife will venture there this January.
The weak Canadian dollar and the cost of travel insurance have Piper leaning toward staying closer to home.
He’s also watching to see what unfolds in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
He hasn’t ruled out the possibility of widespread fighting as the U.S. and its allies try to close their grip on the people responsible for the attacks that killed thousands of people.
“If they start something big, and it covers the whole world, I’m staying home.”
Immediately following the attacks, the Regina travel office for the Saskatchewan chapter of the Canadian Automobile Association saw a sudden downturn in business, particularly where flights were concerned.
That part of the business is now starting to rebound, according to Don Johnston, CAA provincial travel agency manager. The interest is mainly in places like Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
“People are gaining confidence again,” said Johnston. “We’ve had people of all ages coming in here for all different types of things.”
CAA also has a motor coach division. The Regina office did not see its bookings for motor coach trips fall off in the wake of the assaults on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York.
Johnston speculates that some of the people planning flights to U.S. destinations may have chosen to instead travel south by motor coach.
“That business into the States is good for us right now. We’re not taking people to any place where they could imagine becoming a target.”
Meanwhile, the terrorist attacks have crimped the flow of Americans visiting Western Canada this fall for waterfowl and big game hunting.
Outfitters and lodges in rural and remote areas are enduring numerous cancellations.
The cancellations are sometimes driven by client reluctance to fly following the terrorist attacks.
At other times, the business travellers are cancelling because they need to react quickly to any fallout from the terrorist attacks that might affect their businesses.
“It’s going to be a significant hit on our industry as a whole,” said Jim Ticknor, executive director of the Manitoba Lodges and Outfitters Association, whose membership as of May included 356 licensed outfitters and 144 lodges.
“It’s going to have a pretty wide impact on the smaller and remote rural communities.”
Ticknor knows of a lodge that had 15 cancellations by American hunters this fall.
In another instance, a group of Texans booked for a moose hunt in northern Manitoba phoned to cancel after the Sept. 11 attacks because they did not want to get on an airplane.
“A lot of people, pardon the pun, are biting the bullet on it for this fall,” Ticknor said.
