With the United Nations cautiously declaring that it’s time to start travelling again, and intrepid (or careless) souls from other countries now increasingly on the move across ever more open borders, many Canadians are considering when they will feel comfortable enough to follow once the legal greenlight is given.

One of the first to go will be Bruce Poon Tip, who is adamant that travel agents should be too.

“We are in an influencer economy and market right now and we have the opportunity to be one of those influencers” in restoring confidence to the public to travel, says the founder of Toronto-based G Adventures.

Poon Tip says he is already planning a summer trip to Italy and a September journey to Japan and says, “I intend to be as vocal about it as I possibly can and use every means at my disposal to get the word out.

“And I think we all should do that,” he told agents during a recent G Adventures webinar. “We should all be planning a trip. And whether we have to go with a mask, or props and sanitizers, it doesn’t matter. We have to be the early adopters. And we have to be as vocal about it as possible (and) get out there and share stories.

“Because if we don’t do it as an industry, how do we expect other people to travel? We can help kickstart the change. It’s that old chestnut: ‘Be the change that you want to see!’”