by Andrew Wood

 

BANGKOK: To counter the impacts of COVID-19 and prepared for the future post pandemic, global travel will need to change. 

 

The COVID-19 crisis presents a unique opportunity to collaborate on reviving the industry. The pandemic and associated travel restrictions has had a devastating impact on tourism. This pause has led to a new beginning and reimagination of how tourism can be more robust, profitable, sustainable, impactful and responsible in the future.

 

Now is an opportunity to unite tourism stakeholders as they reopen their doors a new chapter that will develop a new understanding of the balance between: 

 

human needs vs. economic progress 

&

environmental / social needs vs. financial prosperity

 

Travel will return. With increased vaccination we have seen this already. The bounce-back is significant. PATA in their recent report forecast international visitor arrivals in the region will increase by +50.8 per cent to 113.55 million visitors this year to 316.50million (+320.3 per cent) next year. 

 

ForwardKeys notes shorter lead booking times are the new normal. The ForwardKeys analysts that track global tourism trends in future airline reservations have observed a continued trend for 2021 that booking lead times keep shrinking, often less than 4 days before travel. 

 

China, the world’s second biggest economy, whose population love to travel, saw GDP grow 18.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the same period the year before. 

 

Flights are increasing too. Qatar Airways for instance will resume flights to Phuket, with four weekly services. The airline is already flying 12 semi-commercial flights weekly to Bangkok. The new Phuket services will increase the total to 16 flights a week between Doha and Thailand as Phuket opens in July to nationalities from countries on Thailand’s low to medium risk list. If they have been

vaccinated against Covid-19 and present a negative Covid test certificate they will not need to undergo a 14-day quarantine. 

 

The WTCC says that the future of travel and tourism will fall under four macro-trends that are expected to lead the way through recovery and beyond. 

 

•Demand Evolution: Traveller preferences  have shifted toward the familiar, predictable and trusted. Domestic vacations and outdoor holidays will grow. 

 

•Health and Hygiene: Health, safety and trust are paramount in this new era. 

 

•Innovation and Digitisation: COVID-19 is proving to be an unexpected catalyst, with contactless technologies among others offering safe and seamless travel experiences.

 

•Sustainability: The world has been reinvigorated to tackle social, environmental, and institutional sustainability. 

 

When travel does return I’ve identified 6 major trends that will affect us all: 

 

1. Travel agents and travel professionals will become essential

 

2. Sustainable Tourism Will Soar

 

3. Small and local communities will see tourism grow 

 

4. Quality over quantity will be paramount

 

5. Staying closer to home will become the norm

 

6. We need to travel - travelling is good for mental health

 

 

Travel agents and travel professionals will become essential

 

Travel agents and travel professionals will account for two thirds of all travel bookings. Conde Nast Traveller predicts a shift to booking travel through agents and established operators, noting their invaluable knowledge and industry connections. 2020 has shown and taught us that the expertise and financial protection of booking through a travel agent often outweighs the amount you pay in commission.

 

Additionally, consumers will look to agents who specialise in the environment. Those who care about where they send their customers can intuitively cut through greenwash. With the decline in air travel from the pandemic, domestic road trips will be popular.

 

The $8 trillion global travel industry, with open borders, open destinations, and visa-free travel, won’t return in the short term but pent-up demand will rebound in 2022. Not only will we travel again, we’ll do it better.

 

This pause gives us the gift of time to consider how we can travel more safely, consciously and protect our future industry and the planet.

 

Sustainable Tourism Will Soar

 

Getting away from crowds and exploring the great outdoors will increase in popularity. In the wake of the pandemic, experts predict there will be more interest in visiting less-crowded places. Travellers will demand responsible travel policies. The industry is responding by actively promoting a healthy world over profit margins. In addition travellers are reducing carbon footprints by purchasing offsets and by staying at certified green hotels.

 

Small and local communities will benefit

 

We will change where we travel. We need to diversify our locations to avoid mass tourism and focus on the places that really need it. Many communities suffered during COVID-19.

 

To empower the voice of smaller operators in the ecosystem a good example is travel and hospitality tech players Airbnb, EaseMyTrip, OYO and Yatra, they have come together as the Confederation of Hospitality, Technology and Tourism Industry (CHATT). They aim to promote domestic tourism, lead the digital transformation of tourism related business and proactively engage travellers and the tourism industry to be a thought leader and  also offer educational training. 

 

Quality over quantity will be paramount

 

Before we travel we will rethink how and why we travel, and more off-the-beaten-track travelling. Avoiding crowds and instead heading to wide open spaces and nature.

 

Staying closer to home will become the norm

 

Some are discovering the benefits of travel even at home. Self-learning courses; cooking classes, a visit to a park, a meal at an outdoor pavement brasserie or at an outdoor terrace keep the spirit of travel alive by considering the feelings that travel elicits. When we compare everything to being locked up, a walk to the park can feel like travel.

 

Travelling and Planning trips aids mental health

 

A recent survey in the US found that travel improves empathy, energy, attention, and focus. Planning a trip is just as effective. A Cornell study also showed that looking forward to travel substantially increases happiness.

 

Studying maps and determining a route makes you feel like your working toward a real goal. If we accept that things might get cancelled we can also expand our comfort zone without too much stress.

24 minutes ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Travel will return. With increased vaccination we have seen this already. The bounce-back is significant.

As far as I can see vaccination hasn't improved anything.

Bars, resorts, shops, borders, everywhere still closed with no tourists at all.

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

As far as I can see vaccination hasn't improved anything.

Bars, resorts, shops, borders, everywhere still closed with no tourists at all.

Its not due to start for another 10 days. 

I image there may be a chicken or egg scenario initially, bars etc wont open until vaccinated tourists start arriving, tourists wont start arriving until bars open

1 hour ago, Peterw42 said:

Its not due to start for another 10 days. 

I image there may be a chicken or egg scenario initially, bars etc wont open until vaccinated tourists start arriving, tourists wont start arriving until bars open

Nobody is coming to wear their ankle bracelets, forget 10 days more like 6 months to a year.

More Bull from the Hub of Bull.   Truth is nobody knows for sure what the future Tourism World will look like but from talking to friends and family who are seasoned traveller's on three Continents all i can say is none will be coming to Thailand or any other part of Asia for a very long time to come.    With so much uncertainty with changing statements on an almost daily basis and way too many hoops to jump through if they come here nobody will want to come other than a few diehards or Folks that need to return to the country for family reasons; the latter not being Tourists anyway.

4 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

China, the world’s second biggest economy, whose population love to travel, saw GDP grow 18.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the same period the year before. 

Well done China. The idea that China had anything to do with releasing the Wuhan virus is just a racist conspiracy theory.

An article full to the brim with contradictions and utter hogwash.

 

Who writes this stuff??

5 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

 

1. Travel agents and travel professionals will become essential

2. Sustainable Tourism Will Soar

3. Small and local communities will see tourism grow 

4. Quality over quantity will be paramount

5. Staying closer to home will become the norm

6. We need to travel - travelling is good for mental health

1. No they wont, haven't used one for 30 year, why start now.

2. No it wont. It may rise a little. Price is king. 

3. Only in the short term until the airports open fully.

4. Try telling that to the visitors of Benidorm

5. Again, Only in the short term until the airports open fully.

6. Seems to indicate that the poor will have mental health issues pending !

 

5 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

4. Quality over quantity will be paramount

in your dreams maybe, Thailand it's all about quantity, hordes of Chinese/Russians to compensate for the last 2 years losses, quality is not part of Thai tourism language

7 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

5. Again, Only in the short term until the airports open fully.

6. Seems to indicate that the poor will have mental health issues pending !

I don't believe the airports will ever fully reopen.

Poor people always have poor mental health.

I think a lot of countries will be promoting domestic internal travel for the near future until the Corivirus is under control world wide 

Plus a lot of people will be  getting their priorities sorted out first 

Back to work sorting out their finances ect 

The OP sounds like an advertisement for travel agents.

Having been swindled to the tune of $400 about 20 years ago by one, I  have got along without them quite well ever since.

Has Andrew Wood been smoking cannabis before wring this nonsense? 

Stress of traveling must be removed and rip offs.............ripped off in car parking fees, ripped off by the airport terminal prices, ripped off by taxi drivers.......happy to stay at home.

Worthless babble.

Nice advertorial, but your attempt to control the talking points of the conversation around tourism reopening is farcical at best.

Honey pack your bags, we're going on a vacation to Thailand. 

Not impressed with article at all.

Predicting future is always off to reality.

The only thing that will improve would be virtual traveling.

And prices will go up not down due to excessive money printing.