The Covid-19 Wrap is part of WiT’s “Unity In Crisis” series, a round-up of news on the coronavirus and its impact on travel.
Domestic and regional travel bubbles at forefront of consumers’ minds as travel restrictions ease
There is a growing appetite among consumers for domestic and regional travel bubbles as governments around the world ease travel restrictions to kickstart the travel sector.
In Europe, Greece has started travel to islands for domestic visitors, and cafes and restaurants are open for business. Some countries are re-opening their borders, among them Montenegro that is welcoming travellers from countries with low infections such as Germany, Greece and Albania.
In Asia, numerous countries including China, South Korea and Vietnam are almost back to normal with most businesses, eateries, travel services and attractions reopened for domestic travel. Japan has lifted its nation-wide state of emergency with restaurants and bars in Tokyo allowed to operate as are schools, libraries and museums. Domestic flights in India resumed from 25 May by carriers including Air India, AirAsia India, Vistara, SpiceJet and more. In Malaysia, AirAsia has restarted domestic flights to a few destinations. Domestic travel within Australia will be allowed by July.
Data from Skyscanner revealed that as these countries relax restrictions for domestic travel, and work towards agreements for air bridges and travel bubbles, search intent for what could be the new normal is increasing week on week.
The news of some European countries ready to welcome foreign tourists again has led to a surge of interest among UK travellers, said Skyscanner. Searches from the UK to France for travel in July increased 128% this week compared to last week, while searches from the UK to Italy increased 103% over the same period.
Skyscanner’s data shows that other forms of travel are also being considered, with searches for car hire up in Germany (40%), Netherlands (30%) and the UK (30%).
In Asia Pacific, Australian travellers are also searching closer to home, with destinations such as Broome (158%), Cairns (149%) and Darwin (117%) increasing significantly.
With the announcement of the Trans-Tasman travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand in July, Queenstown and Auckland were in the top three destinations searched last week.
Elsewhere in the region, over half of searches in countries such as Japan, South Korea and Vietnam are now for domestic travel compared to regional or international at 52%, 59% and 55% respectively.
In the United States, the reopening of cities is attracting attention with flight searches to both Tampa and Orlando increased by over 58% for travel between 21 May and 30 June.
“Nations around the world are discussing new travel alliances. As certain countries have been named, we have seen a correlation with an increase in search data to those locations, intimating that will adapt their planned destination according to government regulations,” said Jon Thorne, director of User Satisfaction for Skyscanner.
“Safety, is of course, paramount in many people’s minds. Many travellers are taking advantage of the airlines and hotels who are offering their most flexible cancellation policies ever and booking international travel for later this year and early next,” he added.
Accor teams up with AXA to offer guests medical support
French hospitality giant Accor has joined hands with leading insurance firm AXA to provide medical support to guests at its 5,000 hotels across 110 destinations worldwide.
From July, Accor guests will benefit from AXA’s recent advances in telemedicine through free access to medical teleconsultations and its “extensive medical networks with tens of thousands of vetted medical professionals”. This will allow hotels to make the most relevant referrals in language, speciality, and more.
Accor said this unique medical service complements its overall global recovery plan and is included in the enhanced health and prevention protocols that the group has put in place through its ALLSAFE Cleanliness label.
“This distinctive partnership with AXA, which we have been working on for several months makes even more sense in today’s context,” commented Sébastien Bazin, chairman and CEO of Accor.
“In an increasingly complex environment our 300.000 team members on the ground will be able to assist our guests and ensure their safety during their stays, turning our hotels into shelters.”
Thomas Buberl, CEO of AXA, added that the partnership with Accor is a unique opportunity to enlarge people’s access to the company’s healthcare expertise and solutions. “As we are facing an unprecedented health crisis with Covid-19, this ambition has never been more relevant.”
RedDoorz rolls out mental health support programme
Singapore-based budget-hotel booking startup RedDoorz has launched “Hope Hotline”, a mental health support programme to help employees, hotel partners and their staff manage the emotional and psychological stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“As people adjust to the new reality created by Covid-19 and learn how to cope with a range of mobility restrictions and sudden changes to their everyday lives, feelings of fear, anxiety and stress can emerge and negatively impact the mental well being,” RedDoorz said in the statement announcing the hotline.
According to a study conducted in China during the initial outbreak of Covid-19, 53.8% of respondents rated the psychological impact of the outbreak as moderate or severe. A Qualtrics research of over 2,000 employees, including those in Singapore, has shown that employees have been reporting lower mental health since the outbreak began
The Hope Hotline, part of RedDoorz’s regional Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), provides online counselling sessions through the company’s partner counsellors and psychologists. It is available in Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.
RedDoorz said in light of the mobility restrictions, it has partnered with certified counsellors and psychologists across the region to conduct free counselling sessions remotely through online platforms for its employees and hotel partners’ staff.
The company is partnering KALM, a Jakarta-based online health platform, to offer the programme in Indonesia. In the Philippines, the company works with individual psychologists to provide video counselling sessions.
“The ongoing pandemic has resulted in immense stress on our economies, healthcare systems and people. As Covid-19 continues to restrict mobility and the immediate outlook remains uncertain, many of us could be experiencing negative emotions detrimental to emotional and mental wellbeing,” said Amit Saberwal, founder and CEO of RedDoorz,
“This is especially relevant for professionals working in the travel and hospitality industries who have also been subjected to many job-related stresses as the pandemic has caused major disruptions to businesses and people’s livelihoods.”
He added that through the hotline the company is standing in solidarity with its employees and hotel partners and helping them embrace the new normal more easily. “We hope the counselling sessions will provide much needed relief, and spread positivity and optimism.”
WHO launches mobile apps for medical workers and general public
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched two mobile apps – the WHO Academy app designed to support health workers during Covid-19 and the WHO Info app designed to inform the general public.
The WHO Academy app is developed by Lyon-based WHO Academy, WHO’s learning centre, which is planned for launch in May 2021. The app is designed to provide health workers with mobile access to knowledge resources on Covid-19 including up-to-the-minute guidance, tools, training, and virtual workshops to help them care for patients and protect themselves.
According to WHO, the Academy app is built around the needs expressed by 20,000 global health workers in a WHO Academy survey conducted in March.
The survey found that two-thirds of respondents feel they have to be more prepared particularly in infection prevention and control, case management, use of personal protective equipment and occupational safety, as well as risk communication and community engagement. A majority of the respondents said virtual learning on demand would be helpful in preparing for challenges they face during the pandemic.
“With this new mobile app WHO is putting the power of learning and knowledge-sharing directly into the hands of health workers everywhere,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general.
The Academy app is in Arabic Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
The WHO Info app provides the public with real-time mobile access to the latest news and developments. The app has been developed from the ground up with an intuitive user-interface and a clean, smart design.
This app also includes the latest WHO initiatives, partnerships and to up-to-date information on the race to find medicines and vaccines for fighting the disease. The number of Covid-19 cases, organised by country and by timelines, are continually updated in the app from the official WHO Covid-19 data streams.
Both apps are available for free download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
• Featured image credit: Daviles/GettyImages
