Crossing borders: Expect new protocols for international travel
This session of TRAVTALK Digital Conclave looked at how travelling beyond borders might look like in the near future and why travel agents will become the de facto experts on all things outbound. As many as 2,186 participants had logged in for this sessio
These are unprecedented times. We are living in circumstances that are not unlike a World War – where every country is facing war-like conditions. The second session of the virtual seminar that TRAVTALK conducted on April 7, 2020, aimed at brainstorming out-of-the-box ideas along with three industry veterans – two National Tourist Offices and an OTA.
Dealing with COVID-19
Our reality is changing moment by moment and while the tourism industry has dealt with catastrophes before, this one is different. Tricia Warwick, Director (Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa), VisitBritain, says, “Not one particular country or region, but the entire world has come to a standstill. In terms of our inbound numbers from Europe, we are looking at a 54 per cent decline. It is cataclysmic, really. Our peak season, which is from July to September, is where we are going to take our biggest hit because it is unlikely that we are going to have a strong summer.”
Like everyone, she isn’t sure when the bounce back will happen – “probably in 2021 and into 2022.”
But, for now, VisitBritain (like most other NTOs) is relying heavily on social media and calling it the ‘armchair dreaming’ phase by showcasing the best of Britain. “We have to make sure that tourism rebounds. It is worth £127 billion for our economy. But I think all countries will see their domestic tourism bounce first and those will be the early signs of recovery,” Warwick adds.
The four phases
Calling the current movement control phase as ‘Retreat’, GB
Srithar, Regional Director (India, Middle East and South Asia), Singapore Tourism Board (STB), names four R’s that we will see play out in this scenario: Retreat, Restart, Recover and Re-engineer. He says, “Right now, we are in the Retreat phase. I don’t think we can jump straight into Recovery. We will have a Restart phase from the lockdown when we will restart the engine, and then go on to the Recovery phase. We will see some normalcy and some numbers coming in. I strongly agree that domestic tourism will be the first to restart. Maybe business travel will start and then leisure, maybe young adults will travel first and then families. Cruise I think will take a while longer. And finally, we will enter a Re-engineering phase. I feel, single-destination holidays will be high on the priority list as well.”
This phase, Srithar says, is where the relationships and the dimension of the travel trade will change and postCOVID will see a changed tourism landscape.
For now though, STB continues to keep in touch with the travel trade by sharing a lot of content about the current situation and the steps that are being taken.
Seconding this is Deepak Rawat, Senior Vice President, Holiday Products & International Markets, Go-MMT Group. He says, “Travel is not on anyone’s mind right now. This is the time to relook at the way we operate, work on customer service, and try and come up with strategies, so that when travel rebounds, we are ready to go full throttle on getting customers back. It will be a
phase-wise rebound. We will have short starts, when airlines begin operations, largely contributed by business travel and family visits, followed by VFR on international routes, and gradually some segments that are more adventurous and look for deals.”
Taking this idea forward, Rawat adds that once travel resumes, there will be a time when the industry will see a lot of deals and offers. “But outbound is not going to be same as last year for sure in a long time – maybe in six months around Diwali, if we’re lucky. Short-haul would have recovered by then and will see some traffic building, M!CE and group travel might take longer but we might see more young people start to travel first on deals. Having said that, it is important for the government to intervene now and give tax rebates, because there are almost 20 million people associated with the tourism industry and there are worries about job losses and pay cuts,” he adds. Meanwhile, the UK government has already announced sops for workers in the tourism and allied industries.
How will travel change?
It will change drastically – that’s for sure. Warwick feels that there will be a heightened awareness
among travellers around hygiene and health measures at destinations, at attractions and at hotels. “Housekeeping will play a very important role in hotels. The way cutlery is cleaned on planes, the way carpets are cleaned in hotel rooms – everything will change. COVID-19 will definitely change the way we behave,” she says.
Living and travelling with COVID-19 will usher in new norms and protocols which will be the ‘new normal’ for us. Srithar says, “If we are going to wait for the day when we will have zero infections, it might be a long, long wait. So, I am thinking that the governments of the world are going to be very concerned and will focus on flattening the curve. At some point, you have to decide how flat the curve must be to start functioning again. They have to decide how to live with COVID-19 and still get on with some business.”
He agrees with Warwick and feels that a lot of attention will be given to safety and hygiene – how airlines are going to ferry people from one destination to another, how hotels will look at cutlery and housekeeping, or the distance the staff maintains from guests, etc. There will be heightened awareness about safety. “Then there will be a time of post-COVID, when we will have a vaccine. Then the re-engineered world will be different. We will have certain protocols in place by then like we have for fire safety today. Airlines, hotels,
When airlines start operating, people will start travelling. They will be our closest allies - Tricia Warwick
Relationships will also be re-engineered where DMCs and travel agents will become even more important. They are going to become the de facto subject matter experts that more travellers will depend on - GB Srithar
everyone will have these protocols in place. Checks at entry and exit points will be intensified. Some form of health declaration certificate before you leave your home city might become mandatory,” Srithar says.
He also feels that certain aspects of travel, like ecology and the environment, will be super high on everyone’s minds. “Suddenly, the earth is breathing and this has established the fact that travel does affect the environment. This will translate into the travel choices people will make,” Srithar says.
Perhaps destinations and attractions that have been declared COVID-19-free will be high on priority, says Rawat.
“People will completely avoid crowded places. That’s why it is important to work with partners now and strategise so that when travel rebounds, we are ready with the right messaging. Initially, it will be the airlines that will be very careful about doing these checks. We may even come to a situation where different Schengen countries have different rules of entry and exit. We might need a COVID-19 clearance certificate from doctors like we did for yellow fever, to apply for visas,” he says.
Enter, the travel advisor
In all this, the travel agent/tour operator will be back in the spotlight. Srithar explains, “Relationships will also be reengineered where DMCs and travel agents will become even more important. They are going to become the de facto subject matter experts that more travellers will depend on at least in the interim stage.”
This is why, Rawat says, it is vital that NTOs work very closely with the B2B channel and travel trade associations, especially now for the next six months which is going to be a tough period. “They must extend to the trade vacation grants, keep budget aside for the India market that has given them good numbers so far. They must particularly help the frontline staff to get more skilled,” he adds.
In a rejoinder, Srithar adds that STB at this stage is open to working with partners on the training and development front. “In fact, very soon we will be opening up marketing-rich content for some trade partners. We might also look at upping our budgets in this market and look
at trade partners to collaborate with us – figure some way to coinvest some marketing dollars,” he says.
He reveals that like many other countries, Singapore, too, is doing a lot of budgeting right now and is looking to help its own travel trade through governmental efforts by way of a Resilience Budget and a Solidarity Budget. “As an NTO, it is important to acknowledge the fact that the trade is responsible for our numbers we receive from India, which is our third-largest source market. We need to ensure that our connection with the trade continues. Over the last 25 years that we have been present in India, we
have, under various schemes, extended our support to them. For now, we are open to working with partners for staff training, technological enhancements and presenting content on the web,”
Srithar shares. Warwick echoes this sentiment and sums it up in one line, “The trusted voice of the travel agent is going to be vital.”
Trending: Armchair travel
With a slate of webinars, virtual tours and attractive social media posts, there has been a flood of #stayhometravellater content. Rawat says, “It will only be sheer inspiration that will ultimately prompt people to actually travel. That’s why a lot of the campaigns right now are directed at ‘inspiring’ them to think of their next holiday. Effectively, the travel agents will need to up the game on giving the right advice and content to consumers for them to be stress-free while on the move.”
India as a source market
With China being the number one market for Singapore so far, Srithar feels that this is unlikely to change post COVID-19. “But we have been investing heavily in various other source markets, especially India where we have stepped up our investments and efforts tremendously. India will probably be one of the few markets to bounce back quickly,” he says.
For the UK though, while US, France and Germany have traditionally been the top three markets, Warwick feels that other
markets might start to spike more. “We have strong VFR traffic from India and I expect to see a steeper spike from India in time. Our top 10 markets will move around for a bit,” she says.
Reiterating his opinion about the Indian market, Rawat says, “They will keep travelling abroad. India is one of the markets that bounces back the fastest. Initially, there will be deals and offers from airlines, land operators and hotels, and people will pick that up.”
Meanwhile, VisitBritain is in talks with the big carriers regarding restarting their operations and the routes that they are looking at. Warwick says, “When airlines start operating, people will start travelling. They will be our closest allies to talk to and we talking to some of the big ones like British Airways about their plans. We are also talking to VisitScotland and VisitWales, and may be some European destinations so that we can create this giant energy by way of coalition marketing.”
To jumpstart their revival plan, all three companies have a blueprint laid out. For Singapore, while the metros will continue to be key, it will definitely focus on Tier-II cities with engagement in these cities becoming top priority. “We will intensify our efforts to tap them. When this situation de-escalated, we want to make sure that we are ready with our communication to travellers: this is what the destination experience is going to be like post-COVID, and travel agents will be the conduit for that,” Srithar says.
India is a market that bounces back the fastest. Initially, there will be deals and offers from airlines, land operators and hotels - Deepak Rawat