How Tourism and the Travel Industry Will Change After COVID-19
Tourism and the travel industry will undergo some permanent changes after the coronavirus also known as COVID-19. Currently, most countries in the world have partially or completely closed their borders to foreign nationals amid the novel virus. And, according to Business Insider, approximately a third of the world population is currently under some sort of COVID-19 restriction.
Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic has sent shockwaves through the travel industry and brought tourism to a screeching halt. It’s impossible to know how the rest of this year will pan out. But CNBC reported that it could take 18 to 24 months before there’s a significant spike in demand and the travel industry begins to return to normal levels.
Even when things do return to “normal”, travel will look very different. Here are just a few ways that I think tourism and the travel industry will change after the COVID-19 pandemic.
1. We Will Pack Sanitization Kits After COVID-19
Remember that video of Naomi Campbell showing us her extensive pre-flight sanitizing routine that went viral last year? The video got mixed reactions, with some applauding Campbell for her travel routine and others criticizing her. Someone even went so far as to call Naomi a “snobby hypochondriac.”But it’s not uncommon for travelers to adopt pre-flight sanitization routines in an attempt to avoid communicable diseases like a cold, flu, or the coronavirus. I should know. I’ve always been one of them.
Now that COVID-19 is here, I expect that more travelers will start packing sanitization kits (hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, gloves, seat covers, etc) to clean and protect against themselves. And everyone should. Airplanes can be pretty filthy!
2. Travelers May Become Less Tolerable of Sick Passengers
Let’s be real, traveling in a plane, bus, car, or train with someone who’s coughing up a lung can be a disconcerting. However, since we’ve all fallen sick unexpectedly, and airlines have crappy cancellation policies, we generally tolerate it.
But after COVID-19, travelers may not be as forgiving. Anxiety is at an all time high because people are deathly afraid of catching the coronavirus. So, until a vaccine is available, I think that travelers may become less tolerable of individuals presenting with “symptoms” of the coronavirus.
Additionally, sick people may chose to stay home rather than travel and risk less getting death stares from co-passengers every time they having a coughing fit. Of course, this will depend on when the traveler falls ill and whether he or she can alter their trip.
3. We’ll Take that Dream Trip After COVID-19
Sadly, there are a lot of people are waiting for the perfect moment to take their dream vacation. Now, with COVID-19 running rampant, it’s unclear when that day may come.
More than a hundred thousand people have unexpectedly died from the coronavirus, leaving us with the ever-present reminder that life is too short. I think this will encourage people to take that trip that they’ve been dreaming about forever.
4. We’ll Use Our Paid Vacation
I’m not sure about people in other countries, but Americans are not using all of their paid vacation. In fact, in 2018, 768 million days went unused and 236 million were completely forfeited.
Once COVID-19 struck, many Americans were laid off and had to use their accumulated paid vacation as income prior to filing for unemployment benefits. And because nearly all Americans are under some sort of stay-at-home order, they could not use the leave for its intended purpose — vacation.
So, I expect that after COVID-19 many Americans will start taking full advantage of their paid vacation to travel or just relax.
5. We Will Change How Far We Travel After COVID-19
As the economy falters, people are becoming more cautious about splurging on luxuries like leisure travel. Thus, many individuals may steer away from all unnecessary travel until a vaccine is created for COVID-19.
At least initially, those who do decide to travel will avoid international travel. Instead, they will opt to take domestic trips due to the cost and for a “sense of security”. Those same individuals are likely to travel by automobile, train, and shorter flights. But there will definitely be a segment of the population that is more willing to jump on a plane and go overseas.
6. The Types of Travel That People Choose Will Change After COVID-19
Social distancing is key to preventing the spread of communicable diseases like coronavirus. Thus, people may look for trips with an emphasis on the outdoors (think sprawling national parks). This type of travel will be particularly appealing after people have been quarantined in their homes for months.
Moreover, fear of crowded places will forever be etched in our hearts. So, cruise travel may become far less appealing, especially since people have been cooped up in their homes for so long. Travel to theme parks, festivals, other similar jam-packed events will also see less attendance until a vaccine is available.
7. The Travel Accommodations That People Choose Will Change
Travelers may avoid staying at hotels since they have such high foot traffic in the common areas. Instead, travelers will chose to stay at short-term rental like Airbnbs, which offer a more remote setting.
8. The Demand for Travel Insurance Will Spike
Currently, most insurers don’t list epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19 under their policy’s exclusions. Therefore, if you get sick from the coronavirus or any other illness while you’re traveling, most basic travel insurance includes medical care and coverage, as long as you bought your insurance beforehand.
But some travel insurance providers outright exclude epidemics or pandemics. They won’t cover coronavirus related concerns or emergencies. And not to be a pessimist, but I expect most insurance providers to follow suit.
In fact, many insurance providers stopped selling travel insurance amid the COVID-19 pandemic and have begun to tighten their coverage to exclude future pandemics like the coronavirus. New travel policies will likely come with even more limitations. For instance, insurance policies that once allowed you to cancel your trip for any reason will be more restrictive or disappear all together.
What’s more, travel insurance will likely increase in cost after COVID-19. So do your due diligence and make sure you purchase a travel insurance plan without a pandemic/epidemic exclusion. The plan should at least all you to recoup costs if you get sick and cannot travel, or you get sick from COVID-19 during your trip.
9. Airport Security Will Get a Makeover
At airports, health screenings may become as common as security screenings. The screening will probably occur as you pass through a security checkpoint, with thermometers measuring each individual’s body temperature. Such screenings became very common in African airports during the 2014 Ebola crisis, and in Asian airports during the wake of SARS and other illnesses.
These screening will help reassure the public. But just be aware that there is little evidence to suggest these procedures are actually effective, especially for the coronavirus, which causes symptoms that are common to many other diseases. Plus, you could get flagged as a risk even though you don’t have an infection, creating a terrible beginning or ending to your trip.
Security lines and boarding procedures may will undergo changes to accommodate social distancing. For instance, security areas will expand and more airline carriers will implement back-to-front boarding to minimize contacts between passengers.
I also think that there will be a greater push for Biometric identity verification, similar to Global Entry and CLEAR. And to avoid larger crowds, more people will start signing up for expedited screening such as TSA pre-check.
10. Health Safety Will Become a Selling Point for the Travel Industry
Health safety will become big priority for airlines. So they will start to up their cleaning and sanitation game. Airlines may also start requiring all passengers to wear face masks and gloves.
As for international airlines, they will probably start adding hand sanitizer, face masks, and seat covers to their repertoire of inflight amenities. Hopefully they will also stop having us reuse the same pillow and blankets, or give them a deep clean.
Airlines will also start boasting about the air quality on their aircrafts and using it as a competitive weapon. If we’re lucky, they might also add automatic sinks, toilets, and paper towel dispensers, and doors to their aircrafts.
Hotels, resorts, and cruises also face the same opportunity. After COVID-19, sanitation and hygiene will be higher priority than ever. If these businesses enhance their cleaning policies, it will surely be a selling point for guests.
11. Airlines May Implement Better Cancellation Policies
Because COVID-19 has caused such a huge disruption to planned travel, airplane carriers may change their refund or cancellation policies to accommodate consumers, who by and large, consider the current policies unfair. Really, this should have been done a long time ago, especially considering that Southwest Airlines has never charged for travel modifications or cancellation.
12. We Will Travel Less for Business
Some amount of business travel that was taking place before COVID-19 will never happen again because the companies paying for that travel will disappear. Plus, a lot of businesses are learning that they can get more done, at much lower cost, via teleconferencing.
In summation, tourism and the travel industry has already began to change and will continue to change after COVID-19. The extent of that change remains to be seen.
What changes do you expect or want to see after the initial threat of COVID-19 has declined? Let me know down in the comments.
