What countries are doing to attract travellers
Speaking as a destination, Sharma adds, “I don’t see any reason why travelling to Switzerland should get more expensive. Unlike an airline, it is not about selling limited seats. Switzerland is probably going to cost the same. In any case, Switzerland is not an expensive destination; it is a value-for-money destination.”
In terms of airline tickets which are possibly a major chunk of an international travel budget, Sunil adds, “Ideally, the cost of flying could be on the higher side due to certain factors. We may see low demand or lower capacity, and even limited destinations when airlines start flying. Many of them will have restrictions on travel. Initially, we are looking at more of the individual traveller rather than groups. Interestingly, we still have group bookings that are travelling in the months of August and September and they haven’t cancelled. This shows the confidence
Over 200 private businesses in the city of Cancún in Mexico, known for its beautiful beaches, have launched an initiative to offer travellers money off.
Spain is ready to receive international tourists in safe conditions from July 1, 2020 without the need to be quarantined. This will save part of the tourist season while guaranteeing maximum sanitary security conditions. Work is being done at a European level so that there are common protocols/checks to guarantee security.
structure added due to third-party costs, such as extra sanitisation measures on-board as well as at the airports. “All these will be external factors over which we will not have control. We have already operated 11 charters in the last few weeks to bring Indians back to the country,” he adds.
Health certificates a reality?
Health certificates are also something that people are talking about. Sharma says, “We are all in this boat for the first time so nobody can tell for certain the right way of doing things. As Switzerland Tourism Board, we haven’t been informed about any health certificate requirements. What I can
cable car, or a restaurant, with a two-metre distance around them. In restaurants, all tables are two metres apart and they need to record contact details of all patrons for trace-backs. But in places where physical distancing isn’t possible, like for instance in a tram, there people are expected to wear masks,” she reveals.
In-flight safety procedures
Giving a lowdown about the safety procedures that airlines are following right now, Sunil says, “Passengers are being asked to wear masks and gloves to the airport and hand sanitizers are provided by the airlines. There has been a dispute about the alcohol content in these sanitizers that are being carried by passengers. These discussions are ongoing and hopefully, we will have clarity on this soon, hopefully before international operations begin. Currently, these are testing times for infrastructure and all the regulations that are being put in place. Luckily, we don’t have a large number of people flying so we are able to identify the loopholes and make corrections in time. And by the time we have all flights resuming, everything should be under control.”
He says that Oman Air does have health checks conducted at different airports. “Hopefully, we will have a standardised protocol at every airport. Countries that have low or no cases might impose stricter regulations though. Things will get clearer in the days to come. If you are able to contain it, then you’ve made it,” Sunil adds. He also says that Oman Air will continue to transit passengers apart from point-to-point fliers. “For any airline to succeed, travelling beyond their hub and catering to transit passengers is very important. We are ready at
the Muscat International Airport
The next stage will be more about the need to visit Switzerland. So the whole cleanliness protocol will be very much a part of our messaging. Yes, we are going to put money behind our messaging. Eventually, we are going to do a very big promotional push for Switzerland and for outbound travel because we need to support all our tour operators with this so that more and more people will look to Switzerland. And yes, we will try and support the travel trade wherever possible with new products. I think, after COVID-19, more people are going to come back to the travel agents and tour operators. I think the trade becomes even more important now. So yes, we are definitely going to be here for them and put money behind them,” Sharma shares. But when can Indians travel to Switzerland? “Right now, Switzerland is open only to the Schengen Zone and we will keep opening up to more countries bit by bit. We are expecting transcontinental travel from India to start by SeptemberOctober 2020 provided things don’t get worse. We expect Asia to start travelling by then and we sincerely hope India will be one of them,” Sharma says.
Parting shots
Sharma underlines the need to be innovative to succeed right
It will be important for tour operators as well because they are the ones to actually sell them. This is a good time for us to think and tweak our operations. We will all have to bear up at least three times more when we start working again to make up for lost time,” he adds.