RETHINK TRAVEL
AUSTRALIA, we will travel again, but it won’t be the same. While no one can say with certainty when we will be able to fly on mass again, what seems sure is that any rebound in travel and tourism, brought to a standstill by the COVID-19 pandemic, will start slowly and stay closer to home. Ultimately, our recovery as an industry will depend on our ability to restore the confidence of travellers to hit the roads and skies again. Travellers will need to trust that boarding a plane is safe and that they will be able to enter a destination country with no issues. For travel operators, there will be a balancing act of adopting new health and safety measures while ensuring a seamless journey. At Amadeus, we believe that the following trends will be important in helping the travel industry meet those demands: 1) Access to information: The ability to access the right information at the right time is critical in times of uncertainty. As borders reopen, it will be important to provide real-time updates on health and safety protocols and new travel requirements in destinations so people feel confident travelling.
2) Social distancing: Airports have long been associated with long queues at check-in and security and crowded seating areas as travellers wait for their flights. Social distancing could become the norm at airports and on places, including the use of AI to manage crowds and assist with contact tracing. 3) Automated health checks: Some countries are starting to run automated health testing at airports such as temperature checks or thermal imaging. This could lead to longer transit times and bottlenecks at airports, so travel agencies will need to inform travellers on wait times and risk assessments.
4) Digital identity: Biometrics are already a widely accepted solution for identity verification and their use could become more widespread as physical fingerprint and hand scanners are phased out. More touchless travel options could come into play including contactless fingerprint and face recognition. 5) VR travel experiences: Travel restrictions under COVID-19 present an opportunity for virtual travel to truly take off. VR platforms can enable people to venture to remote places or immerse themselves in a particular location before buying a trip. 6) Robot-powered services: New hygiene and sanitisation protocols could see the rise of autonomous cleaning robots to sanitise hotel rooms and airport terminals to protect travellers. At the Hong Kong International Airport, selfdriving robots are being used to disinfect public spaces and bathrooms. Learn how Amadeus can support you on the road to recovery here.
Justin Montgomery is General Manager Australia at Amadeus