10 ways Covid could change travel – from cruise ship ‘bubbles’ to workations and flight streaming
Businesses will close, jobs will be lost, and we’ll need to mourn that. But I also see an opportunity, an inflection point – New Zealand, for instance, is conducting a study to “re-imagine” tourism post-pandemic. So, what if we did tear up the manual, or see in Covid a chance to innovate and change?
Here are just a few ideas flying around our Brave New World.
2. Cruise Ship ‘Bubbles’
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A cruise ship drops anchor. Stock Photo: Getty
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Cruises took a hammering thanks to high-profile outbreaks early in the pandemic, but this is a resilient sector that has overcome many PR disasters before.
What if we flipped the notion of a crowded, floating incubator on its head? Could cruise ships, with the right pre-departure testing, become Covid-free “bubbles” in which guests could sail safely?
That’s an idea suggested by Gus Antorcha of Holland America Line.
“Look at New Zealand – it’s a bubble,” he told Travel Weekly. “In some ways, a longer voyage can be perceived that way. If you were able to have a population, and if we really create a bubble on the ship, that could go for a very long period of time.”
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3. Flight Hotel streaming
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You still end up sprinting to the gate to catch the plane
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Think Netflix or Spotify, only with flights or hotel rooms.
Many are watching Chinese airlines for clues as to how air travel may return, and several have trialled “all-you-can-fly” deals where guests pay for unlimited flights (China Southern’s ‘Fly Happily’ deal covered August to January from Y3,699/€469).
With passengers wary and airlines likely to struggle to fill planes in the short term, could a “streaming” service put bums on seats?
In Scandinavia, Nordic Choice Hotels had a similar ‘Unlimited Nights’ deal this summer – stay as many nights as you want from €2,500 for two… with TCs, of course.
4. Workations
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A bedroom at Hotel Westport, Co Mayo
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Sick of the “boffice”? You’re not alone. With hotel rooms and holiday villas lying empty all over the world, and millions of remote workers sick of chiming in from kitchen counters and parents’ houses, a market for “workations” has materialised.
We’ve seen this in Ireland, with Hotel Westport offering five-day deals with snappy Wi-Fi and socially distanced workstations, for example, and the Canary Islands have also spotted a niche (with the attraction of added winter sun).
In another sign of a trend set to outlast the pandemic, the UK’s Balance Holidays is tacking from traditional holiday rentals to offer longer-term stays in France, Italy and England.
“People are looking at ways to make the new life model sustainable,” it says.
5. The New Bucket lists
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Machu Picchu, Peru. Photo: Deposit Photos
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2020 is the year we realised “some day” may never come. Lockdown has pulled a focus on priorities we took for granted – families, loved ones, special occasions.
Could this see a swing away from throwaway trips towards fewer but more meaningful ones? An urge to reunite and make memories both as a reward for what we’ve been through, but also before it’s too late?
“In ordinary times, you wouldn’t expect to see a tour operator telling people to travel less, but these are not ordinary times,” says Tom Barber of Original Travel, 67pc of whose clients said, in a recent survey, that they wanted to “travel better” by making more conscious plans and taking fewer, but longer, trips.
6. Peace of mind
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Travel in the time of Covid
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You can’t plan past the six o’clock news these days. With travellers still smarting from cancellations and airline refunds, consumer protection will be front of mind when we travel again.
We’ll want to feel safe, to avoid “getting stuck” overseas, and I see an opportunity here for travel agents. Facing a newly complicated holiday landscape, experts could help us slash through the confusion of “traffic light” systems and quarantine requirements, help find less crowded resorts, or advise on cancellation policies.
Some younger travellers may even use travel agents for the first time.
7. The great outdoors
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Evening at Dun Briste, Downpatrick Head, County Mayo, Ireland. Photo: Gareth McCormack
Gareth McCormack/garethmccormack
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“Wilderness may be the new wellness for 2021,” says James Thornton of Intrepid Travel, which says its future bookings show a strong demand for all wilderness experiences. “Time outdoors after a year of lockdowns and increased screen time will seem more important than ever.”
This is one trend that has stuck through the pandemic. A new survey of North American travellers for the World Travel Tourism Council saw a telling desire for “anywhere uncrowded”, while traditional hotspots “like New York and Nevada” scored lower.
That’s a universal sentiment right now, which is grim news for city breaks but may prove an opportunity for rural Ireland, which already has a reputation for landscape, fresh air and adventure. Overseas visitors remain “comfortable” with the prospect of future visits here, Tourism Ireland’s research shows. That’s a plus.
8. Living like locals
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Galway’s lively market. Photo: Fáilte Ireland
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Lockdowns reconnected us with the local. We’ve supported neighbourhood restaurants, shopped locally, explored the history around the corner. The year of the staycation reminded us how our spending can help the communities we visit, and Fáilte Ireland’s consumer research suggests people intend to mix up more home holidays with foreign trips in the future.
Overseas, could this make for more thoughtful trips, for bookings with companies that value sustainability and invest in communities, rather than simply sucking out profits?
It’s not just about us. With no overseas tourists this year, hotels and restaurants may see a new incentive in supporting local – not just through jobs, but by investing in local art and design, being creative with Irish food, or creating retail areas selling local goods and crafts.
That strengthens neighbourhood connections, and makes for a richer visitor experience too.
9. Digital Health Passports
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Passengers travelling during the pandemic. Photo by Sergei BobylevTASS via Getty Images
Sergei Bobylev/TASS
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For decades, long-haul travellers have carried vaccination booklets, documenting up-to-date jabs against diseases like yellow fever, polio or hepatitis. When Covid-19 vaccinations arrive, proof of immunity may be a standard requirement for travellers.
We’re already used to using our phones and wearable tech for payments, boarding passes and health apps, and CommonPass, backed by the World Economic Forum as a secure and verifiable way for passengers to show test results, has gotten a pilot run this week.
Could coronavirus see a step change in digital health passports, too?
10. A new map of the world
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Bungee-jumping, Kawarau suspension bridge, founded by A J Hackett, Queenstown
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It would have been unthinkable this spring (remember Wuhan?) but domestic flights in China last month rebounded to top figures for the same month last year. That’s down to low fares – and a suppression of the virus, of course.
It’s still too early to call how countries will recover, but health and safety will be critically important to travellers for years to come – and countries like China, New Zealand, Thailand or Germany, perceived as having Covid largely under control, could reap a tourism reward in the future.
One study from China this year, published in Tourism Review, found travellers would also be more likely to seek out destinations with established infrastructure and high-quality medical facilities following the pandemic.
Whatever happens next, it seems trust, confidence and reassurance will be key.
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Like what you’re reading? Subscribe to ‘Travel Insider’, our free travel newsletter written by award-winning Travel Editor, Pól Ó Conghaile.
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