Grounded
Travel and Tourism is Rocked but Committed to Survive
Thanks to COVID-19, many of us are home bound, suspending work and leisure travel plans. We are accustomed to going anywhere any time we want, making this a particularly difficult time for road warriors, professional travelers, those looking forward to vacationing, and others feeling trapped in their surroundings. Travel and tourism-based businesses have been hit hard, with an estimated 65% of the global passenger air fleet placed into storage1, popular business and tourist destinations sitting empty, and entire communities built around seasonal visitors shuttered. In the early days of the pandemic, die-hard travelers shared haunting images of empty airport terminals, vacant mega hotels, cruise ships afloat offshore, and deserted beachfront boardwalks.
Committed to Survive
Airlines and cruise companies have been hit with a double whammy – fear and uncertainty over contracting and spreading disease while traveling; and the economic stall with consumers and businesses diverting funds to basic needs versus travel and leisure. To help offset immense losses, airlines opened cargo holds to transport PPE and medical supplies. For consumers, regulators stepped in to protect ticket holders and encouraged travel companies to enact lenient change and refund policies to urge future travel reservations. Protecting employees and travelers has been paramount with rigorous protocols implemented to clean and sanitize hard surfaces and recycled air within cabins. Food and beverage services have been modified to minimize person-to-person contact.
Technology-based programs being deployed now also have potential to build resilience and cost efficiencies into airport operations. Contactless environments using digital facial recognition avoids handling identification. Mobile apps like VeriFly help de-densify airports and speed the security process with touchless temperature checks and dedicated TSA lanes. Robots operate as “mask nannies” to gently remind travelers to mask up. Intelligent sterilizing robots and machines use cleaning agents and medical-grade UVC to quickly disinfect public areas and passenger facilities.2
Travel-related COVID-19 testing is becoming more prevalent. Several airports have deployed teams of specially trained canines to detect COVID-positive travelers even before they are symptomatic3. United is trialing passenger testing on their San Francisco to Hawaii routes, while Hawaiian Airlines is offering drive-through tests, waiving the two-week quarantine requirement for arriving passengers testing negative.
The cruise industry has had a slow and measured response but is gaining ground on the virus. By working closely with local health authorities and instituting stringent pre-voyage testing, COVID-positive passengers and crew can be managed proactively. New health protocols including quarantine pods and rapid onboard medical response are spurring a cruising come back and could result in ships becoming healthy, protective bubbles.
Good News on the Horizon
A recent Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) study4 showed that contracting coronavirus on airplanes is extremely unlikely, a tribute to the extra efforts by airlines to sanitize hard surfaces and use of hospital-grade HEPA filtration systems. This is welcomed news as traveler statistics are increasing. On October 18, TSA screening counts reached 1 million travelers5 the first time since March, and the 6.1 million travelers that week was the highest weekly volume since the start of the pandemic.
The news is mixed for cruise lines. Those sailing in the Mediterranean have achieved multiple back-to-back cruises without any cases due in large part to stringent pre-testing, controlled off-ship excursions, and contingency plans for COVID-positive passengers and crew. Those sailing to or from US ports have not been as fortunate as No Sail Orders have been extended likely into late 2020.
The technology solutions, rapid-response programs instituted, and new partnerships forged in this COVID world are helping to build resilience into the Travel and Tourism industry. In time, consumers will return as our insatiable appetite to travel has only grown throughout the pandemic.
Being a road warrior myself, I do miss traveling around the country and around the world, seeing colleagues, customers and new places with my family. I don’t know about you, but when it’s safe, I am ready to go!