2. Travel and Tourism is one of most prominent sectors
in the world economy
2
Travel & Tourism as one of the
world’s largest economic
sectors
One in 10 jobs (330 million)
worldwide
Generates 10.3% of global GDP
Covid-19 has impacted travel
and tourism like no other
event before in the history
3. The sector was amongst the first few sectors to be
hit severely by the Covid-19 pandemic..
Asia is expected to be the worst affected
3
-70%
-60%
-50%
-40%
-30%
-20%
-10%
0%
Revenue per available room Average daily rate
Source: STR
Bars show the y-o-y decline in two performance indicators in
March 2020
-120
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
Asia
Pacific
Europe North
America
Middle
East
Latin
America
Africa
Airline Passenger Revenues (USD bn)
Bars show the estimated loss in passenger revenue in 2020
compared to 2019
Source: International Air Transport Association
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Caribbean
Middle East
Latin America
Africa
North America
Europe
Asia
Job Losses in travel and tourism is estimated to be more than
100 million in 2020
Source: World Travel and Tourism Council
HOTEL REVENUES PLUMMET AIR TRAVEL DOWNFALL MASSIVE JOB LOSSES
4. The global travel and tourism sector is
expected to take a long time to recover
from the ill effects of coronavirus
pandemic on the sector.
The United Nations World Tourism
Organization (UNWTO) predicts global tourist
arrivals – or visits from tourists who come to
their destinations and stay at least one night –
will fall 30 percent this year from the record 1.5
billion in 2019.
Airlines have grounded nearly two-thirds of
their planes as passengers vanish.
Cruise ships are docked; some won't sail again
until November 2020.
5. Companies are looking to reboot
5
Companies across the
globe are adopting
some unprecedented
and innovative
developments to push
the sector to recover
Health and Safety
Company Management
Technology
6. Health and Safety
6
▪ Rigorous sanitation daily thorough professional
cleaning of the environment for safety of guests
following all disinfection and sanitizing protocols
▪ Ensuring food safety starting from food suppliers to
the kitchen food preparation, serving and delivery
▪ Providing basic medical protection equipment:
masks, gloves, sanitizers etc.
▪ Practice social-distancing even at the cost of
reduction of number of customers at a particular
date or time
▪ Strictly follow the guidelines issued by local, state or
federal government
Hilton, Marriott and Airbnb all announced enhanced
cleaning procedures worldwide to ease travelers' minds
In Egypt, Hadhoud is removing cruises and hot air
balloon rides from his packages and replacing them
with tours of Egypt's vast western deserts, where
travelers can keep their distance from one another
At Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, multiple
teams are working on scenarios, including putting
more between riders in rollercoasters
Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox said his company may
sanitize dice between users, put fewer seats at blackjack
tables and idle slot machines between players at its
casinos in Las Vegas, Boston and Macau
Gary Thulander, managing director of Chatham Bars Inn, a 106-year-
old resort on Cape Cod, said the resort is planning many changes
when it reopens this summer, including checking in guests via cell
phones, letting them opt out of room service and lengthening dining
hours so fewer guests will be eating at the same time
7. Company Management
7
▪ Leadership Additions: company may need to hire a CSO or CHO (Chief Safety Officer or Chief Health
Officer). This person must be a public health and safety professional
▪ Training Programs: organizations are creating several training programs. All managers, from the top to
the front line supervisors, must go through a training program and acquire a "certificate of
completion" in public health and safety. All new hires in any managerial position will need to have this
certificate before being fully employed
▪ Alter Marketing Campaigns: pay special attention to the new needs of the travelers. The majority of
these needs will be centered on public safety and security, social distance, small crowd travel products
and services, on-site temperature testing and/or other assurance of a virus-free environment. All
marketing and promotion should place public safety and security as part of the message
▪ Revise Old Manuals: the old operational manual or procedures are to be modified to streamline the
public safety and security operation. Procurement of equipment, services and products must also be in
line with revised or newly created operational manual or procedures
8. Technology
8
▪ Touch Free Travel: Perhaps the most immediate change
that will likely be put into place is going to be providing
travellers with a touch-free experience, right from a touch-
down at the airport all the way to a hotel check-in.
─ With biometrics already being widely used, their use
will only see an upward trend while hand scanners &
finger printing will be phased out. In addition, other
technologies already in existence, such as facial
recognition and contactless fingerprinting will be
employed further in the entire travel chain.
─ Other technologies, such as touchless document
scanning, gesture control, voice command control,
which are already being tested, will assist in ensuring a
touchless experience
▪ Streamline Marketing Initiatives: For large corporations, use of
big data to better understand customers. Two pieces of
information are especially relevant and important: age and
geographical location (countries, cities, etc.)
─ The reason is clear: COVID-19 affects older people more
than younger people and it affects some countries and
regions more than it does others. The older the people are,
the more concerned they will be with health-related safety
and security, for example. This information can be used in
promotional incentives, customizing marketing messages
and providing special services
▪ Automate Processes: Companies also plan to streamline marketing/promotion/booking/reservation/check-
in/check-outs/post-travel feedback, either through the internet, or by creating a proprietary app or both
▪ Implement smart tourism, smart hotels and
smart food service
12. Key Changes in Operating Model
12
▪ All passengers to receive communications from the airline (via application/email and/or SMS)
detailing the new measures that have been put in place in response to COVID-19, and offering
guidance to help them prepare for the day of travel
▪ All passengers should be encouraged to checkin online to reduce the reliance on staffed
counters and self-service kiosks at the airport
▪ Biometric technology can help the industry deliver a seamless and touchless airport experience.
Therefore, efforts to enable offsite pre-enrolment for biometric processing (i.e. removing the
need for passengers to enrol using a kiosk once they arrive at the airport) should be accelerated.
▪ Health Passports or Immunity Passports are being explored in some countries but a global
solution would require buy-in from multiple stakeholders, government agencies and health
authorities
▪ Explore the viability of offsite processing and the use of electronic bag tags to help reduce the
reliance on staffed counters and self-service kiosks in the airport terminal.
Pre Travel
13. Key Changes in Operating Model
13
▪ Have staff and/or signage remind travellers to wear a face covering before they reach the front door of the airport terminal and
at the terminal entrance
▪ Use physical and digital signage to remind passengers of new safety and hygiene measures that have been put in place, and
their responsibility to adhere to them
▪ Install plexiglass at all staffed counters as a hygiene shield for the benefit of passengers and workforce
▪ Provide passengers with a personal Stylus for use on selfservice kiosks to remove need for them to touch surfaces with their
fingers.
▪ Explore the installation of touchless kiosks (examples of good practice: United Airlines; Avalon Airport; Etihad Airways; AirAsia).
▪ Introduce or expedite the rollout of biometric facial recognition technology to enable a touchless passenger experience
▪ Empower passengers to use their smartphones as an optional remote control at passenger touchpoints such as kiosks, to avoid
the need to touch any surfaces.
▪ Use artificial intelligence (AI)/computer vision (CV) technology to detect if passengers and staff are wearing face coverings. In
areas where someone is found to not be wearing a face covering, reminders could be displayed on nearby digital screens
Boarding
▪ Providing live, personalised boarding information direct to passengers’ smartphones via app, SMS or email
▪ Encourage passengers to use digital boarding passes, which should be self-scanned
▪ Optimise the boarding process to reduce queues and avoid the rush towards the gate when boarding begins
▪ E.g. Gatwick Airport - “Bingo Boarding” - display boarding sequence on digital screen; passengers board when their seat number
is displayed/called. For instance, window seats first, or row-by-row back-to-front. This can help to avoid queuing at gate, jet
bridge, and aircraft aisle.
▪ Southwest Airlines - smaller boarding groups - 10 passengers at a time to help with distancing
Airport
14. Key Changes in Operating Model
14
Aircraft
▪ Include information and advice on inflight hygiene measures as part of safety briefing (e.g.
encourage passengers to use sanitisation wipes, not to put their hands into seatback pockets
or gaps between seats, etc)
▪ All passengers and crew must wear face coverings while onboard (unless permitted to
remove, for instance during meal service).
▪ Remove printed materials such as magazines and menus to avoid potential cross-
contamination.
▪ Make use of electrostatic sprayers/fogging devices for sanitisation when aircraft is on the
ground, and conduct an additional thorough deep clean of aircraft overnight.
▪ Make better use of airline app as an inflight communication channel - e.g. add a “call flight
attendant” button to app so passengers don’t have to press a physical button in the cabin.
▪ Embedded inflight entertainment (IFE) screens are easy to clean and sanitise. However,
where possible airlines should enable passengers to use their personal electronic devices
(PEDs) for additional content and communication purposes.
▪ Enable contactless, cashless payment for any F&B and product purchases onboard.
▪ Where load factor permits and in order to help put travellers at ease, middle seats should be
left empty between passengers who are not travelling as part of the same group
15. Key Changes in Operating Model
15
Hotel
▪ Digital Check In: Hilton has introduced contactless check-in and check-outs at more than 4,700 hotels
around the globe. The new technology will require enhanced communication with guests, many of whom
are accustomed to heading straight to the front desk, which is exactly what hotels want to avoid.
─ Hotels, such as the The Wayfinder Hotel in Newport, Rhode Island, are offering curbside check-in
while major hotel chains are transitioning to “digital keys” which allow you to check in and out (and
pay your bill) via your mobile phone. This eliminates the need for magnetic key cards (which must
be sanitized after every use), queuing with other guests and interacting with the front desk staff
▪ Inside the room: Hotels are making major changes to cope with the effects of pandemic
─ Hilton is applying a seal on guestroom doors to indicate they haven’t been accessed since they were
last cleaned
─ AMResorts in the Caribbean and Central and South America will find pillows, blankets and in-room
tablets sealed in vacuum packaging. Remington Hotels — a Dallas-based hospitality group that
manages select Sheraton, Westin and Marriott hotels among others — is testing Germ Guard, a
single-use preventative sleeve that slides over remote control devices
─ Daily newspaper deliveries are going digital with electronic PressReader access that customers can
read on their personal devices. Similarly, face-to-face concierge services are moving to text
messaging through software such as Kipsu and Whistle.
─ For intense cleaning, major brands such as Hilton and Marriott are turning to electrostatic sprayers
and ultraviolet light technology. Sandals Resorts are sanitizing air ducts upon each departure and
steam-cleaning room carpets every week
16. Key Changes in Operating Model
16
▪ Help to avoid queues building up outside restaurants by allowing travellers to access table availability
information via airline/airport apps and digital signage. Also, allow passengers to book an available
table in real-time and send them a message to let them know when their table is available
▪ Ensure all tables are twometres/six-feet apart and, where possible, install plexiglass as an additional
hygiene measure
▪ Allow passengers to access menus and complete payment via app and/or QR codes
▪ Room service menus are being expanded, delivery is moving to “knock and drop” at guest doors and
ordering is done via customers’ mobile phones, such as that offered at over 3,200 Marriott hotels.
▪ The Palms Turks & Caicos is introducing family-style in-room dining menus, and the historic
Washington School House Hotel in Park City, Utah, has started a new “Anyplace Dining” option where
guests can eat in quiet parts of the hotel, by the pool and in the private garden.
▪ Swedish hotel, Stadt, in Lidkoping, has opened up their rooms as private dining spaces, allowing
people to go out to eat while still maintaining social distancing from other diners. The idea is that
instead of getting a table in a restaurant, diners are given an entire room with a table. Orders can be
placed by phone, so diners never have to leave the room
Restaurants
17. Key Changes in Operating Model
17
In Japan, Onsen and Sento public baths have lost the majority of their
customer base. Arima Onsen and Kosugiyu are amongst those public
baths that are getting creative in order to resolve this, with a virtual
experience that recreates the relaxation of the hot springs within the
home.
To help people to relieve quarantine stress, Arima Onsen, who have
closed 90 per cent of their inns, have recorded 20-minute videos from
five of its 31 locations and uploaded them to a YouTube channel. The
idea is for viewers to feel like they are in an onsen, and with virtual
reality headsets they can enjoy an immersive experience with sounds of
running water, falling cherry blossom petals and breeze amongst
bamboo stands, all from the comfort of their homes and wherever they
are in the world.
For travellers keen to escape the
confinement of their homes, Child
Studio’s Casa Plenaire is the perfect
place to go. Viewable on Instagram, the
dreamily imagined, fictitious resort
brings the beauty of an island getaway
to life. Designed in partnership with
skincare brand Plenaire, Child Studio
created the holiday home with 3D-
modelling.
Flooded with light and containing all the
necessary beach holiday accessories, the
imagined home includes a circular bath,
a tiled terrace, an uninterrupted view of
the sea, and a sprinkling of Plenaire’s
products. An open magazine, straw hats
and a scattering of lemons and oranges,
all situated in a whitewashed interior,
immediately bring Mediterranean
summers to mind.
Tour operators are thinking of innovative ways to keep their clients engaged mainly through
virtual tours
Tour
Operators
The Faroe Islands, a Denmark territory, have come up with a
way to allow people around the world to go on a self-guided
tour of the archipelago. Camera-wearing locals will respond to
sight-seeing commands from people at home, allowing virtual
tourists to control their own route
18. Key Changes in Operating Model
18
Cab
Services
▪ The cab service providers have put in place series of measures to check social distancing and
sanitization in the cabs
▪ The taxi services companies have instructed their driver partners for the usage of masks, hand
sanitizers, encouraged cashless payment, and also advised to keep sanitizing the cabs at regular
intervals of time.
▪ For instance, In India, Meru cabs introduced a unique 'Ozone (O3) Treatment' to sanitize the cabs
at designated hubs in the city. O3 air is released inside the cabs to make it virus and bacteria free.
Also, the company distributed do's and don'ts leaflets for their driver partners and advised to
maintain social distancing among fellow drivers
▪ In another instance, Ola India instructed their driver partners to inform the 24x7 Ola Care helpline
if they find any flu like symptoms among their passengers, and the driver should self-quarantine
themselves. Also, Ola requested their passengers to contact the company if any customer who
tested positive has taken an Ola ride in the past seven days.
