Time to get united to chart out the road to recovery
The travel, tourism, airline, and hospitality industry has been devastated by the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and its continuous waves. The majority of businesses have shut down. COVID-19 has forced us to adjust and re-think how business is conducted, not only to comply with national and local restrictions and guidelines but also to protect the health of their employees. Despite all the difficulties, the important thing is that we need travel recovery and have to start somewhere.
Indian travel, tourism, aviation, and hospitality industry that supported 42.673 million jobs which were 8.1 per cent of the total employment in the country now needs broad-minded philosophy of parenting. Without the means to earn an income during lockdowns, many cannot feed themselves and their families. Many youngsters of the travel & tourism industry have now turned to be street sellers, selling vegetables or fresh fish at roadsides or home delivery.
The domestic travel and tourism sector was on the road to recovery from October 2020 onwards and though we saw a ray of hope from January to March 2021, the situation has become worse and out of control. The second wave and the new variants have not only down-turned travel due to lockdowns but many countries also banned the entry of Indians into their States.
Now with the new norms, Travel experiences will look different for the foreseeable future. Travellers and the tourism industry need to be thoughtful, careful, and innovative to ensure safe, responsible, and sustainable travel. We expect that responsible and sustainable tourism becomes more important in the postCOVID-19 era.
Responsible tourism is vital in reviving the travel and tourism industry from its current financial crisis. Sustainable tourism needs to become our new basics, and we all need to make a conscious effort to learn what it is and our role in supporting it. In a nutshell, it is about travelling safe while practising the social distancing guidelines, being responsible, doing the least harm to ourselves and others, while still allowing ourselves to experience the best our world has to offer.
But the restart of domestic tourism did not last for long. Though it was well-coordinated, with riskbased solutions in a phased manner, it drastically failed due to the rapid spread of the second wave. The situation has worsened with the state governments have imposed localised curfews and lockdowns to curb the spread of Coronavirus second wave. The economic recovery downed again, and the flexibility in spending on luxury has declined drastically due to rising unemployment and the worries about likely job losses in the future.
Though vaccination readily started, the economic recovery becomes slow and uneven with employment and financial stability. In the current scenario, it is even harder to predict when economic activity could return to pre-virus levels, primarily because of the health crisis and the government’s timid fiscal response.
Till we restore confidence for people to begin travelling once the COVID-19 pandemic finally diminishes, domestic tourism only will work out. Technologies play a significant role to increase hygiene. Touch-less seats that connect to Bluetooth on mobile to lower car seat back or fold out the tray. Touchless lavatories; regulated boarding procedures, so people don’t come in contact with each other in the aisles and at airports, facial recognition technology and tracking through customs and boarding, so travellers and staff aren’t touching the same boarding pass.
The pandemic has taught many experiences and lessons to travellers, travel agents and tour agents globally. Technology is penetrating every part of the aviation, travel, tourism, and hospitality industries, but human potential or human touch is one element that determines its value. It includes social importance and emphasizes knowledge, potential creativeness, responsiveness, reliability and accountability.
This global pandemic severely transformed the way we live, work, and think. Precarious livelihoods, food scarcity, social and economic
inequalities change the way we imagine our future. This second wave of pandemic highlights the need to reshape or redefine our responsibilities, encourage us to innovate, collaborate, and adapt our mindsets.
Post lockdown predictions and preparations would need a better understanding of the current situation. The pandemic effects are effectively visible on the country’s inbound, outbound and domestic tourism, adventure travel, business travel, cruise holidays and air travel. For resuming tourism activities to revive the sector, governments must take all the trade associations and organizations into confidence and plan future strategies accordingly.
Accelerating plans for digital health passports like CommonPass or IATA Travel Pass can be a vital tool in opening up Travel once again. We have to see that all governments and airline operators will accept proof of vaccination as a condition for international Travel. Also, they must address the concern over data security risks, transparency, and control over the data collected.
In such a gloomy scenario, the Government of India must take crucial steps to help the tourism sector revive itself. The government should take immediate measures to reduce the rate of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on room tariffs, food and beverages, services charges or commissions and TCS or Tax collection at Sources. Also, all substantial loans or financial bailouts enable the sector to keep alive for a couple of years.
The potential impact of COVID-19 on global and national economies depends on several factors like how long the pandemic will last, the gravity of social distancing restrictions on businesses, and the magnitude and effectiveness of government stimulus packages. It is too early to talk about the post- COVID second wave, new variants, as uncertainties continuing in India as well as in many countries.
To overcome this unprecedented catastrophe, we have to do many home works based on the different degrees of damage caused economically and by human beings, which may directly affect the service segments like travel, tourism, aviation, and hospitality.
Researchers still don’t know how long protection against the virus lasts once someone has fully vaccinated. Whether a boost dose is required within 12 months or takes boosters yearly is still not clear on the effectiveness of vaccines. The reality is that vaccinated people are also getting infected, and that’s a nightmare.
This pandemic is rigidly hitting our Industry, and the recovery is vital to prevent millions of people from being driven into extreme poverty. And the crisis has shown us the importance of coordination to overcome our Industry’s vulnerability and become more resilient. It is essential and need of the hour to recognize that ‘united we stand, divided we fall.’
For rebuilding and restructuring, we require a joined-up approach. All the related associations or organisations related to Travel, tourism, aviation, transport, and hospitality must jointly work together to achieve significant recovery and collectively represent the interests and requirements of the Industry and its stakeholders. Much uncertainty still surrounds the recovery of the travel, tourism, aviation, and hospitality industry; however, projecting the path to recovery is an exercise requiring prudence.
Though Travel Agents and tour operators are an integral part of the economy, neither the Union Government nor any State Governments considered any bailout or financial support for travel agents. Except for few who have MSME registration, most are in the ‘unorganised nature’, depending on the income-generating from ‘Commission’ or ‘Service Charge’ for the services.
Passenger confidence will take time to rebuild. But we must remain hopeful that we will build up some momentum as people start to travel again. But, as much as we are connecting through Zoom, Teams, or other technologies, it is not the same as being there. Flying is freedom, and Travel is freedom. That is not something people forget or lose their desire. It will take time for the market to return. But when it does, the longterm prospects are solid because we fulfil the fundamental human need for connection and mobility.
It may take months or years to recover from the devastating impact of COVID-19 until the travel and tourism industry plays a pivotal role in rescuing the economy and our local communities across the world. Until the majority of populations are vaccinated, the public will always be concerned about general or essential travel. While we may need to ‘live with the Coronavirus’, our readiness to do so will depend on adequate knowledge, willingness and confidence in the health infrastructure to manage potential medical issues.
Restoring traveller’s confidence is a big challenge. First and foremost, the traveller needs to feel that they can trust the service providers’ including the governmental authorities, concerning their health and safety. The human touch will be a significant factor in the restart.
Social distancing becomes the new mantra, with masks and gloves turning into a part of daily wear, people prefer to remain within the safety confines of their homes. Very few only think about holiday trips. The scare of touching or standing near a stranger, the fear of infection or death, will take a long time to disappear. Until most of the populations are vaccinated and have emotional confidence in safety and security, survival of the travel & tourism industry is likely to remain in the dumps.
Since international flights are restricted or stopped due to the coronavirus second wave, we at IAAI feel that IATA Standard Accreditation is a “white elephant” for the majority of IATA Accredited Agencies who are SMEs, for which a travel agent has to annually spend around $802.5 in addition to financial guarantees & expenses. In the present scenario, this expenditure may not be a viable business solution for most agents, and being the current situation may continue much longer. The IAAI National committee has suggested agents convert their accreditations to “GoLite” accreditation which curtails credit facilities but drastically reduces overhead expenditures and enables IATA Accredited Agencies to survive this unprecedented difficult situation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how interconnected we all are. Recovery from the COVID-19 crisis is a complex and challenging task requiring a lot of effort and time. However, we have to create greater awareness and better resources for the travelling community to reach there.