The global pandemic COVID-19 has affected our lives in countless ways, clearly one of the most affected sectors is the travel and tourism industry. The tourism industry is suffering from trip cancelation, the tourist attractions being closed, and hotels & restaurants completely out of business. Although all human resources on the earth are trying their best to cope with the epidemic situation and find a permanent cure for the virus, it might take a while to completely defeat this deadly virus.
The post-lockdown state when it’s safe to move around will open opportunities for traveling, but, there will be a lot of factors to take into consideration to have a safe journey. So, to cope with such circumstances the way of traveling is changing to adapt to the after lockdown condition. So, here we have prepared a list of things about how COVID-19 will change the way of traveling.
- Sanitization, the top priority
If you didn't pay proper heed to the sanitization, after the outbreak of the coronavirus it will be your foremost priority. The germaphobes you used to meet on your travels who were used to wiping seats and frequently sanitizing their hands will be the quite normal trend from now on. Also, from travel industry perspectives, everything will need to be a top-class hygienic and properly sanitized, the cost-efficient travelers who used to settle for moderate quality accommodation and fooding services won’t feel safe in such an environment anymore.
The travel industry will be under strict scrutiny and they need to prove that they can provide safe and hygienic food & hosting facilities. To successfully restart the travel industry, the hotel, inns, eateries should be able to build confidence among the consumers; the safe guidelines practiced in the industry will eventually turn into a brand standard to attract the tourists. The hotels and other service industries in the tourism sector will start looking for ways to show the tourists that their sanitization procedure and social-distancing protocols are top-notch and they can feel protected in their premises. However, the medium or lower-level service sector like simple motels, street vendors, inns, etc. which won’t be able to provide the finest quality service will be greatly affected, travelers will lose confidence in the service sectors that won’t be able to maintain the hygiene community standards or social distancing protocols.
2. Passenger test everywhere
Whether it be air-way travel via train or sea cruise, every nation will make the passenger test for the trace of the virus mandatory. You will have to go through different health- check posts and various tests on several ports before leaving your country and after arrival to get access to your destination. The passenger would also have to accept the terms and conditions of the country and stay in quarantine for the necessary period if they show any kind of symptoms of the coronavirus as it is very essential to control the spread of the virus.
The major concern is going to be the social-distancing protocols in the modes of transportations. The planes, buses, ships, and taxis will have to make sure that the passengers are at a safe distance from each other so the virus doesn’t spread among themselves if some infected person is on-board who didn’t show any kind of symptoms at the health check post. Further, transportation service providers will also have to follow very specific hygienic procedures each time after they complete their trip. After the lockdown is over and things start to settle slowly, these protocols will be followed by every nation for the incoming and outgoing tourists to keep the virus pandemic under control.
3. Travel insurance escalating
Most of the travelers had been relying on the premium travel cards with trip protections to defend themselves from any unforeseen scenarios during their travel. But, after the outbreak of the coronavirus people have learned that most of the travel insurance policies do not cover epidemics and pandemics. As of now, most of the travel insurance and life insurance companies have brought in different policies considering the current pandemic of the coronavirus. It is almost as if people don’t understand the importance of insurance unless there is a major event going on, the sale of travel insurance skyrocketed after the breakout of the virus and travelers started rethinking about the policies rather than depending on the free protection plans, to protect their travel investments.
In the coming days, it will be nearly impossible to see any tourist without travel insurance; the coronavirus epidemic has taught everyone a lesson about how vulnerable life can be and how much is necessary to stay on the safe side. Many of the insurance companies have already put in the policies to cover the pandemic illness after the virus outbreak from Wuhan, China; the affected person would receive benefits in case of unanticipated events.
4. The fares starting cheap
The coronavirus outbreak has affected the economy of the whole world, especially; the tourism sector has been adversely affected by it. To balance things out the industries in the tourism sector will start by offering services at a relatively reasonable price immediately after the lockdown is over. You will be able to book transportation facilities like planes, trains, buses, etc., including the food and accommodation facility at a cheap price. There is a possibility that the industries in the tourism sector will provide smoking-hot deals to motivate them to start traveling again and do everything in their power to prove that their organization follows all the necessary procedures required to keep the virus at the bay. After people start to move around taking those offers and come back unaffected after their adventure, this will encourage other travelers to move freely and acknowledge the virus is indeed under control.
However, the analysts have expected it will take at least two to five years before the number of passengers will return to the normal pace like in 2019 before the breakout of the coronavirus. So, the tourism industry will have to move on with the less number of tourists after the lockdown is lifted and be patient and wait for the things to go back to normal.
5. People starting to prioritize their dream trip
The busy life schedules of people in these modern days have turned them into someone who suppresses their passion and procrastinates their dream. You might also have someone in your life, friend, or family members who have prepared a dream trip but due to some reason they never took that flight. However, the outbreak of the virus and the horrible set of events that followed after the pandemic have taught a very important lesson to everyone around the world that human life is pretty fragile, if you don’t live your dream or follow your passion, you might regret it at the end of the day. This outbreak and lockdown have also helped people to understand themselves, what they have been missing out and the important things they had been neglecting in their life; the consequences might not be in the long-run, it is inevitable.
Taking these factors into consideration, the travelers will no longer be putting off the trips they had planned, well not immediately right after the lockdown down is over but, shortly after the things start to get back to normal and people will start building confidence in the travel industry.
6. Inconvenient travel for a while
There is no doubt that the most affected sector in the world by the coronavirus won’t be able to make a steady comeback immediately. A lot of industries in the tourism sectors which are started on debt right off the bat seeing the cope in the industry are in immense danger of not being able to make the revival at all. Similarly, there are also tons of business in the tourism sector that won’t be able to maintain the standard and health protocols set out by the WHO which will directly affect the smooth and convenient expeditions travelers used to have. The brave travel enthusiast who will set out on the next journey after the lockdown is over will have to face some sort of difficulties in their adventure. There will probably be a few numbers of flights to their destination, a decreased number of food and accommodation services and an arduous procedure to get access, relatively. Even the popular routes and destinations might not be able to provide services like they used to; the travelers will have to adjust their itinerary considering the travel banned zones and list of things restricted by the government of the region declared by the country for a while.
7. Growth of multigenerational travel
The coronavirus outbreak and lockdown has given the families to spend time together in months or maybe years. Spending time together helps the heart grow fonder and sort out the differences the members had in the past. The post-pandemic world is expected to bring people closer and forge strong bonds with each other, similarly, it is also estimated that multigenerational traveling will also increase in a great number. Furthermore, the multigenerational vacation package was already a trend in early 2020, so the post-lockdown state is estimated to attract more number of such tourists.
However, the multigenerational trip needs to be properly coordinated and planned to consider the state of every family member to make it a smooth journey. It may be a difficult hurdle to find the perfect package, but, we believe the families are going to break out of those barriers and have a wholesome adventure. The growth of multigenerational travel is also going to open a lot of new opportunities that the industries in the tourism sector can focus on.
8. Face mask and sanitizer, every traveler's first priority
The coronavirus outbreak has taught people lessons about the importance of personal hygiene and sanitization. The people who used to be careless about the hygiene procedures and do as they pleased have now realized how dangerously they were living. The post-lockdown traveler will undoubtedly consider the set of masks and hand sanitizing products as the top-priority packing in their list. Also, the travelers who didn’t even own a face mask before the outbreak of the virus will likely be seen sporting masks almost everywhere and even a few extra sets on their backpack. The government of almost every country in the world has legalized the notice that every passenger should wear a face mask and practice the safe-distancing in the transportation facilities, airport & lounge, eateries, including other public areas, so, like passport and visa, the travelers will need to be geared up with facemasks and sanitizers for the time being.
Only a few Asian countries had the practice of using masks for daily use before the pandemic, otherwise, wearing a mask would come up as excessive or weird to the people of other nations. Now, it has become one of the safest prevention against the virus, so, it is estimated that the tradition of wearing facemasks will stick for years even after the coronavirus is properly dealt with.
9. Soaring road trips
After months and months of lockdown, people are dying to get out for fresh air or spend some quality time outside their house for an instant. In the post-pandemic world it is estimated that the number of road trips will soar to the skies. Although it might not be quite possible to make the international trips immediately after the lockdown is over, it is predicted that the cross-country traveling will drastically increase. Similarly, the nature vacation is also analyzed to grow and people will start appreciating it’s beauty more than before.
However, the travel ban might not be lifted that shortly in the areas that were severely affected by the virus, but, the less affected areas are predicted to open up after the lockdown is over, of course, taking the safety measures and social distancing factors into consideration. The short round trip close to home or just spending night out in the open isn’t going to cause any harm, so, the short route traveling is expected to be the next big thing after the lockdown. Likely, the cruise line across the world will be shorter, the famous feature of the cruise-- intercontinental trips will not be effective after the lockdown, but, the cruise line will implement the short travel plan with changed itineraries.
10. The demand for more space
The social distancing protocol implemented by the government across the globe to control the spread of the virus will be the next popular tradition in the post-lockdown world. People will be cautious about maintaining the safe distance in the malls, theatres, transportation, and almost everywhere. So, in the new chapter after lockdown the consumers will be demanding more space and the operating party will have to be able to implement the requirements. For instance, the work areas will have to go with the new structure to keep employees in spacious settings where they can practice the safe distancing and frequent sanitization of the personnel, common areas, and bathrooms are also very essential.
Likely, the industries in the tourism sector will have to implement the protocol like; forming circles in front of reception at a safe distance, frequently sanitizing lifts, bathrooms and lounge areas, preparing meals taking precautions seriously, and so on. The airlines and other modes of transportation will also have to follow the new policies and not carry more than the number of passengers with whom safe-distance can be properly maintained in the vehicle. It may have a toll on the transportation service providers, hotels, cafes, and restaurants but it is a very crucial requirement for the tourism industry to keep attracting the tourists and considering their safety, which is of course compensating than having no business at all.
11. Business-class travel may get crushed
The pandemic created by the breakout of the coronavirus resulted in shutting down a lot of industries, also taking a massive toll on the economy of every sector. Therefore, it has been estimated by the travel experts that the business class travel may remain locked for quite a while. There are also tons of organizations out there that have failed to get pandemic insurance and most are estimated to get bankrupt because of the lockdown. Even in the post-lockdown situation some business life conference halls, theatres, events management companies, bars, and so on will have a hard time reawakening their business or likely may not recover at all depending on the debt.
So, considering these facts the leisure traveling will take off but will have the opposite effect on business travel. The business trips and conferences that used to be the primary source for first-class traveling in the tourism sector will affect the first-class travel for a quite long time until the organizations can sustain themselves. However, this doesn’t mean that there won’t be any first-class travelers; only the number of first class-travelers is estimated to drop significantly.
12. People utilizing paid off-days properly
The modern lifestyle where people are after success and money, they fail to fully utilize the limited time they get on their hand. Even in the big cities and major firms people are known for liquidating the paid-day to cash rather than taking a break to get refreshed from the daily hazard. However, in the lockdown state where people don’t have much to do and limit themselves to visit other places, the people have realized the important things they missed out on life-like; visiting relatives, family reunions or adventure activities they had planned; they won’t take traveling for granted anymore.
So, we expect that the people will start utilizing the paid leave they get to the full content and even start traveling more often than before. Those who have missed out on trips in the past will have time to prepare the future trip and take advantage of the paid days they get. Travel experts also agree to this fact that people will start taking advantage of the vacation they deserve. Even you can start planning for the next adventure of your life for the post-lockdown state with friends and family on your favorite destinations.
