While featuring in an exclusive virtual panel earlier this week, senior personnel within the world’s biggest travel and tourism industry predicted that it might take up to three years for the tourism industry to recover following the economic constraints arising from the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
In a virtual panel discussion organized by the Department of Tourism (DOT), Gary Chapman, president of airline company Group Services and dnata, Emirates Group, said it may take around three to four years of “programming” to return this “horrible” state to the time before the coronavirus affected the world’s economies.
Chapman commented that, “You may say that seems very pessimistic, but I think you also have to remember that it’s not just about recovery from this crisis, but you also have the mother of all recessions out there and there’s gonna be a lot of people unemployed, there’s a lot of disruption that’s going on. So, we’re kind of thinking that this is a three to four year recovery program.”
He further added that international air carrier Emirates has around 260 aircraft grounded at this time while an estimated 105,000 airline employees have been heavily affected by the crisis.
Craig Smith, president and managing director of Asia Pacific for Marriott International, also agreed with Chapman that though the industry will “certainly recover,” it will be a slow process. He also encouraged Philippine tourism leaders to start the recovery process by “spending time” on what is viable at this time.
Former Secretary of Tourism for Mexico and currently World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) CEO Gloria Guevara said the crisis has exploded five times more than the impact of the world crisis that we had earlier had that is the 2008 financial crisis.
Meanwhile, global forum World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has estimated there will be over 100 million job losses in the sector until the year ends.
Foreseeing major uncertainties in global capital flows, Rajawali Property Group CEO Shirley Tan reminded investors of the importance of securing new investments while putting in effort asset management, capital preservation, and liquidity management.
She also said that there should be enhanced collaboration among private and public sectors as one of the keys to tourism industry recovery.
As the world resorts to the “new normal,” the Jakarta-based business expert suggests that Philippine tourism industry players take advantage of the latest technology to offer novel and more creative on-site experiences to attract the younger travel demographic.
However, they all agreed that travel experience will change in terms of airline protocols before, during, and after a flight, as well as the accommodation experience in the ‘new normal’.
Questioned on how hotel designs will change, Tan said social distancing will be there for short term. “Space planning is going to be very important. And we are looking at a technology to make sure that the hotel is not overcrowded,” she said.
“But over time, I think the design will change to integrate online and offline digital experiences,” she said, adding that the digital age requires a social media-driven environment where digital connectivity and proximity may encourage people to stay indoors for safety.
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