Why health protection is the key to recovery of the travel and tourism sector

This World Wellbeing Week we are looking at the new emphasis around health and hygiene in travel. Health is now a significant consideration for post-pandemic travellers; whilst holidaymakers may have considered health as part of their holiday planning pre-Covid-19, this was usually confined to adventure activities, backpacking trips or visiting developing countries. Since Covid-19, health has catapulted to the top of the agenda and is now a key factor in all the decisions we make, in life, work and our travels. We have been given a crash course in virus transmission and there is a heightened awareness of our own personal health – from what we touch, to who we socialise with and where we travel to. The industries of travel, technology and health are merging like never before and are greatly impacting these decisions. Global communications agency, FINN Partners spans technology, travel and health amongst other sectors, and now more than ever is utilising cross-sector collaboration to ensure our travel brands and destinations flourish and build trust with travellers in a post-lockdown world.

Tom Jones, Senior Partner for the Health Practice at FINN Partners spoke at the ITIC and WTM Virtual Summit on the subject of ‘Why health protection is the key to recovery of the travel and tourism sector’. Here are some of his key insights into the importance of merging travel, health and technology for travel brands and destinations to reboot and grow their tourism offering in coming months and years:

• Future of Travel: We need to look at the future of travel and the factors that will influence the industry such as sustainability, health and technology to navigate a path through the crisis. There are already a number of health and travel industry collaborations designed to make things safer and improve the wellbeing of the traveller and never has it been more important to look at the travel industry through different lenses. The post-lockdown travel industry will be informed by science and health in a revolutionary way and for destinations to recover, they will need to embrace the level of collaboration and alternative viewpoints to ensure that potential visitors feel confident in booking a holiday to their country

• Technology in travel: Technology has become a new travel mandate to keep us healthy – there will be new technology to minimise touch points in airports, apps to deliver food to us at the gate and UV light technology disinfecting people. The traveller will have to adapt quickly to these changes but destinations can support by making the overall customer journey as smooth and as reassuring as possible

• Gaining confidence from travellers: When it comes to planning holidays, optimism has decreased and these industries need to work together to bring confidence back. There have been some really impressive health and travel schemes that have already launched i.e. WTTC launching the world’s first safety and hygiene stamp. By working collaboratively as an industry and sharing insights and knowledge across tourism the industry will stand a better chance of recovering quicker

• Vaccine: We need to look at the end game and we won’t be able to resume travel and life as usual until a vaccine is widely available. There are more than 100 projects looking at different vaccines around the world and eight candidate vaccines are being trialled on people. In the US it is estimated that the vaccine will be available between the new year and autumn 2021

For more information and insights on how the travel, technology and health sectors must work together as part of the tourism recovery effort, download our latest white paper here:
https://finnpartners.box.com/v/Future-of-Travel