Let's boost traveler-confidence!

Cyprus and Greece are success stories, in preventing the spread of COVID19. As restrictions are being eased, and travel is soon to resume, both countries are making great efforts to attract the largest piece of the pie, out of this year's tourism. On top of the positive image that both Cyprus and Greece have created, the imposed measures that will remain until the end of the year, seem able to prevent a second wave, if all individuals act responsibly.

Although we need to praise the efforts of most governments, who took measures to prevent further spread of this virus and thank everyone who worked hard to support us during the lock-down period, it is now time to focus on the road to recovery. We can only hope for a recovery, if we succeed to re-establish a confidence in the average traveler.

For the past two months, we were bombarded with shocking assumptions of how travel and hotels will look post-pandemic. Grave predictions of the future, fueling the insecurity of everyone in the tourism industry. As everyone operates with marginal profitability, I believe that most of these scenarios, were 'dreamt' by journalists and bloggers, rather than professionals and were therefore, mostly unrealistic. Unfortunately this instigated fear, which requires a great effort from us to turn around the psyche of travelers.

Certainly, business volumes will be lower this year, but I remain optimistic that recovery will be relatively quick as confidence is boosted. Travel and hospitality professionals all have a duty to ensure the safety of airlines, airports, transportation and hotels, while also promoting it as much as possible. Let's all shout about our cleanliness standards. Marriott, Hilton and Accor already have. After all, cleanliness and hygiene have always been the core services guaranteed to hotel guests, right?

Now, let's all preach the benefits of traveling, the need of supporting the industry, the people and the essence of hospitality. Let's reward the travelers who support hospitality first. They will also become preachers for us and contribute to boosting the confidence of others.

Recovery starts by everyone making a step, not by sitting back and wait. Traveling to favourite destinations or taking a chance at trying something new. Even if people were not planning to take a summer vacation, maybe it's time we helped them reconsider. Let's boost traveler confidence!