Ideas collected from the wisdom of the crowd during the WiT Virtual Summit
While it is clear that domestic travel is the immediate market for recovery at this time, the travel industry in Asia also needs to look ahead and think of ideas to get more Asians travelling since intra-regional travel will be the first to bounce back when borders open again.
As such, during the WiT Virtual Summit on June 24 we asked our audience for ideas around a few key challenges, one of which was how do we get more Asians travelling when the time is right?
One idea was for the “temporary relaxation of visa requirements, for example. visa-free travel for ASEAN residents to Vietnam (currently only applies to citizens)”. Another called for “cheaper air fares and lower room rates”, as well as “all bookings must have free cancellation for all flights, hotels, transfers”.
The general sentiment was that borders should open “with care and caution” but we had to make it as hassle-free as possible for people to travel.
One said, “It is very simple. A quick test (15 mins or less) of a cheap test to ensure a Safe Travel Protocol so that passengers can board a flight knowing there isn’t the virus on the plane .”
Commented another, “Assurances should be provided by all stakeholders – governments, OTAs, accommodation providers – involved. Government policies should be clear and concise, and communicated properly to avoid confusion.”
Here are some of the comments around addressing health and safety concerns of travellers.
- Travellers need to know the health/safety requirements of each country, airport and feel sure that the rules won’t change during their trip. This is a significant issue hindering most travellers.
- Reduce quarantine measures for non-symptomatic travellers.
- Safety in the destinations and no mandatory 14-day quarantine once visitors prove that they are virus free upon arrival.
- Family-oriented programmes, safety and hygiene standards clearly explained in sales channels.
- Provide standardised criteria for risk ratings for destinations and hotels to allow consumers to choose their accommodation/destination based on their risk profile.
- Create a safe environment for traveling – make sure all tourism places and hotels are cleaned often and consistently.
- Help them keep abreast of latest restrictions and continue to work with authorities to make it clearer and streamline processes.
On the marketing front, there were calls for tourism boards to become more aggressive and effective with online marketing. Travel promotions for tourism hotspots should be rolled out, with a delegate from Japan commenting, “Japan’s Go To travel campaign, providing discounts and coupons for Japanese domestic travel, will stimulate the massive domestic travel industry and provide a bridge to eventual inbound travel rebound.”
There was strong sentiment that “stakeholders need to work together – airlines, hotels, NTOs, distribution channels. Rather than each working separately, they need to combine resources and roll out a joint programme”.
However, one delegate felt that “after the lockdowns, I don’t think we need to do anything to get people travelling as everyone misses it. We need governments to start opening borders and airlines to start flying. Safety protocols are already in place and as long as every traveller plays their part as well, we will be fine.”
When asked what the industry can do better collectively, “sustainability” came up most often in the chat. “Travel has a huge carbon footprint, especially with the planes, trains and ships. And hotels too. Mass food wastage, plastic, wrappers …”
One called for “less mass travel/package travel, more individualism and slow travel. Get to know the world and not just go attraction after attraction checking off boxes.”
Another said, “I feel that big online operators should share more rather than buy up different sectors of services,” and “sustainability issues as practised by online companies should be more transparent”.
As for how travel can sell its message better to consumers – that it plays a big part in the role of humanity – storytelling came up as the most-cited response. “A personal experience story will help convince people better than anything can,” said one. “Create better stories to showcase how travel can transform lives,” said another.
As for what travel products would be needed to create better travel for consumers in a Covid world, the answers ranged from “outdoor experiences” to “safe travel options and destinations”.
Other ideas were: a product that can give information and assurance to travellers that they can avoid big clusters of people on top of all the safety measures and “culturally and experientially immersive products that place certain limits on capacity”.
“I don’t think virtual tours are anyway close to actual travel experiences. It’s just a temporary soother since we can’t travel. But technology and AI is surely going to play an important role in the growth of travel business in the future. It’s a little tricky though – how much investment can standalone agencies make on this line to evolve with the needs of the business?”
The crowd has spoken.
• Featured image credit: Bet_Noire/Getty Images
