Travel SOPs will change
We must be prepared for a M!CE industry with new protocols, perhaps one where travellers will require a doctor’s fit-to-fly certificate, says Zelum Chaubal, Director, Kesari Tours
M!CE groups can only start when the world resumes business activities and countries open their borders. The first few international countries that will open up to M!CE will be the ones with very few cases and where safety precautions are strong such as Dubai, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Azerbaijan, and a few favourite European countries like Amsterdam and Switzerland.
These will also be the countries where governments and tourism boards are ready and prepared to welcome M!CE traffic. But before that can happen, we need to ensure that our SOPs are strong and we are all adhering to the new COVID-19 norms. COVID-19 negative test certificates may be the new requirement and we must therefore be ready to adapt to these new norms that different countries may apply. At the same time, we must also be prepared for mandatory requirements such as COVID-19 insurance and even a COVID-19 tax. Domestic M!CE should start before international. Given that physical distancing is part of the new normal, we will need to rethink our M!CE numbers.
QUICK BYTE We must be prepared for mandatory requirements such as COVID-19 insurance