The Covid-19 quarantined an employer of 330M, a contributor of 10% of global GDP.
It just started a little early with Thomas Cook; a 178-year old British travel company declared bankruptcy on September 23'rd, 2019. Then flooded streets, squares, and landmark churches at Venice, and then Australian bushfires consumed 46 million acres (72,000 square miles) of land roughly the same areas as the entire country of Syria. Experts say the fires have killed at least half a billion animals, including Koalas, wallabies, wombats, and kangaroos. And then came the 🦠 virus. And now, a pause for thought.
We are stuck at home, fantasizing about the joys and freedoms of travel. Out there, economies that depend on visitors are weathering. A perfect storm for better or worse stopped the universe. The sudden absence of tourists has made the travel industry- an employer of 330M, a contributor of US$7.6 Trillion (10% of global GDP) come to a stop.
The new world order is already building up. The crisis nudging the businesses a middle way — a more responsible, thoughtful way of traveling that minimizes carbon emissions, manages over-tourism and maximizes the contribution to local economies. The pandemic is accelerating the adoption of many new trends and reshaping consumer behavior. The businesses are trying hard to adapt to the new environment, but legacy business models are short of options and rely on start-ups to provide the most advanced solutions.
Many businesses are looking at contactless solutions that reduce person-to-person touchpoints and for technologies that can simplify or streamline the customer travel journey. The opportunities don’t stop there. The entire trip is layered and has different touchpoints. The clean air, electrostatic cleaning, accelerated touchless boarding, social distancing, free cancellations and re-scheduling of your flights are already in place.
Pricing and revenue management solutions will become more sophisticated. From inventory management to ticket pricing and accounting measures will change. The blockchain will become the bedrock of the entire industry in the next ten years.
- Identification services — They are essential for the travel industry, and blockchain will become the industry standard for storing it.
- Luggage tracking — In many cases, a customer’s luggage changes hands multiple times over the course of their journey. Using a decentralized database makes sharing tracking data between companies a lot easier.
- Secure, Traceable payments — The next-generation applications will serve as a global ledger, making bank payments more simple and secure. The travel companies are already accepting payments using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
- Customer loyalty schemes — Change is coming with a simple process and easy to use loyalty programs. We will see the most customer-friendly platforms.
- Accounting and account management — Immutable ledger will disrupt the entire accounting process in many major industries.
A few significant trends are appearing in the travel industry. While airlines, hotels, and Airbnb’s saw a decline in their bookings, there was a massive surge in RV bookings, up by 1000%. These ‘land yachts’ have become the choice of travelers. Recreational vehicles and Glamping sites are the go-to choices for all budgets. The privacy and social distancing will be a norm throughout your journey without compromising the luxury. We are also seeing a strong surge in the destinations within less than a 3-hour drive from cities as travelers look for more space to spread out in nature.
The backpackers and Millenials are the trendsetters. The travel economy will bounce back strongly with new rules of engagement. While the longer-term trends reshaping the travel industry may have been interrupted by COVID-19, they will return along with the eventual recovery.
