In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the world of travel increasingly opening up again, new guidelines will have to be implemented for tours and coordinated adventure trips so that travelers and employees feel safe and secure.
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the world of travel increasingly opening up again, new guidelines will have to be implemented for tours and coordinated adventure trips so that travelers and employees feel safe and secure. Experts have discussed with us some of the ways that the market, and the experiences of travelers, will be different in the future.
1. Roaming locally
Leigh Barnes, Intrepid Travel's chief customer officer, feels that hyper-local and domestic tours will come back first because individuals will feel more secure with the promises of their own governments. "After months spent in solitude, they would be excited to get out and explore their surroundings," he says. "By creating new experiences to appeal to demand, you can expect travel companies to adapt and respond to these new travel trends."
Will Gluckin, head of communications at Get Your Guide, agrees, "Experiences will appeal to a local crowd." The first visitors will be locals visiting their backyards as the global tourism industry continues its long path to recovery. In order to satisfy this "new" audience, activity providers will need to change the language, content, and routes of their goods and tell different stories to locals with greater cultural resonance.
2. Physical Distancing
Touring and activity holidays will be influenced by the capability constraints associated with social distancing, according to Rob Rankin, president of the Incoming Tour Operators Association Ireland. He hopes that tour operators will change their product to ensure compliance with health standards, such as by reducing daily touring distances for coaches and not traveling daily to as many different places. "Activity providers would offer less populated areas more outdoor opportunities, with a smaller community capability that would be easier to distance them socially," he predicts.
3. Travel responsibly
A legacy of the shared encounter with the virus that we have all been through may be that we think more about how our decisions influence people in other nations. Bruce Poon, the creator of G Adventures, anticipates that we should think more about individuals as people everywhere we go and conduct ourselves accordingly in terms of tours and adventures.
"You can ensure that more of your travel dollars stay in the pockets of the people who make your journeys so enjoyable by hiring local people rather than parachuted-in" experts, "by either staying at local hotels or with families and paying them for the privilege, and by buying your drink from the guy with the cart on the street instead of from the big chains," he says. "Believe me, on the same principles, you can make a good trip and not only enjoy it more but come back feeling that you have made the world a better place, not a poorer one."
4. Wellness
Recently, we have had plenty of time to reflect on nature, and Intrepid Travel's Leigh Barnes hopes that upcoming tours will focus more on health and the wilderness. “Since 2020 has been characterized by spending a lot of time at home and indoors due to the pandemic, we expect 2021 to be about getting outside and being healthy, with tours focusing on items such as cycling, trekking, and awareness,” he says. "A great deal of interest can be seen in far-flung destinations with fewer tourists and those that provide a deeper link with our natural environment, such as the Galapagos."
5. Technology
Moving forward, technology is likely to play a role in improving the experience and ensuring security. For example, visitors to the Beethoven Haus in Bonn do not get devices given for tours, but media guides to the museum can be downloaded for free to play on the visitor's own computer in several languages. "Will Gluckin from Get Your Guide says," The days of paying with cash, getting a paper ticket, and renting a headset to listen to an audio guide are gone. "Experiences would be contactless in the “New Normal” and this is an opportunity to boost the guest experience with a more seamless physical and digital mix."
6. Sustainability
We get to see wonderful facets of nature come to the fore when the planet has slowed down to cope with the COVID-19 crisis. The world-famous canals of Venice have sparkled with unusually clear water and are full of fish in the absence of boats, vaporettos, and gondolas, for instance, and lions are discovering areas of Kruger that they did not venture to before.
"According to Leigh Barnes of Intrepid Travel," We can use this moment as a rare opportunity to think about how we travel and how we should aspire to be more ethical and sustainable tourists and global citizens in the future. We believe that customers will be much more mindful of where they go and how the places they visit will affect their travels. We hope that this will lead consumers to make more informed choices about traveling with responsible companies that value the environment and local communities' well-being.”
7. Spreading out
In the future, common places will become less attractive, as the more a place is in demand, the more likely it is to draw crowds. Some experts think that we may come to see the planet as a fragile place and realize that it may not be the best thing to do to descend on it in hordes to enjoy adventures. What if we were to branch out a little, to see parts of the world that our friends, family, and Instagrammers have never seen before and to the land where we land a little more easily?" says Bruce Poon, author of "Unlearn: The Year the Earth Stood Still."
8. Safety and health
Health and security will be the top priority for every tour operator and activity provider in the wake of COVID-19. Even you are a solo traveler, a health kit and tactical gear should be in your backpack. According to Will Gluckin of Get Your Guide, they will strive to implement new hygiene and operational standards to ensure guests feel secure and safe. "Operational changes such as smaller group tour sizes, capacity limitations in major attractions and distanced seating on bus tours and day trips will become normal, along with general best practices such as masks and social distancing," he says.
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