Study finds latent demand for travel, changes in consumer behaviour

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 24 September 2020 24 September 2020

There is latent demand for travel despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, but consumer behaviour is changing and  travel companies should employ methods other than asking their customers to find out how to respond to these changes, a study has found.

“Customers are interested in traveling again when restrictions lift, even willing to do so before a vaccine is available at scale. China—which, as of the time of writing, has effectively controlled the spread of the virus—is seeing both the leisure and business travel segments recover domestically,” McKinsey & Company said in a report called “The travel industry upside down: Insights, analysis and actions for travel executives.”

Europe shows encouraging first signs of recovering travel demand, while other geographies, including the United States, have not yet effectively controlled the spread of the virus; even so, there is a considerable increase in searches and advance bookings.

“Travelers are keen to travel but feel restrained. Indeed, due to necessary public-health measures and safety precautions—such as quarantines, closures, and other restrictions—the leisure space may be curbed by the inability to do anything meaningful at a destination,” McKinsey said.

Many business travelers who are ready to fly again may be limited by corporate travel policies and companies’ understandable focus on duty-of-care obligations to employees.

“The working-from-anywhere trend could permanently blur the lines between leisure and business travel. Digital nomads and “bleisure” travel predate COVID-19. However, the pandemic and the rise of remote work seem to accelerate growth of these travel segments,” the report said.

Players across the travel value chain—including destinations, corporate travel managers and hotels —need to think through key implications.

Nonprice factors have become more important to customers. The industry needs to cover other terrain before “demand stimulating” its way out of the crisis and instead restore traveler confidence. The travel industry is only as strong as its weakest link, so customers need to be comfortable with all touchpoints in their journeys.

“Self-reported sentiments may not accurately reflect preferences or behavior, despite being easy to gather, and especially in the depth of a crisis. For this reason, travel companies cannot rely only on stated preferences; they need to improve the way they keep a pulse on travelers’ actions through leading indicators,” McKinsey pointed out.

Roger Frizzell, SVP & Chief Communications Officer at Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise shipping group, agreed with the report’s finding about latent demand. “We believe there is pent-up demand to cruise again, especially among loyal cruisers. We also are implementing new health and safety protocol, in close coordination with health authorities and destinations, as well as outside experts, that are among the most robust of any industry,” he told CruiseBusiness.com.

Healthy Sail Panel submits recommendation to US authorities

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 21 September 2020 21 September 2020

New recommendations from a panel of globally recognised medical and scientific experts say that by relentlessly focusing on prevention and other measures – including the testing of guests and crew members – public health risks associated with the pandemic can be mitigated in a cruise ship environment, Royal Caribbean Group said in a statement.

The Healthy Sail Panel that was formed in June by Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd submitted its recommendations today to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in response to a CDC request for public comment that will be used to inform future public health guidance and preventative measures relating to travel on cruise ships.

The Panel comprises globally recognized experts in medical practice and research, public health, infectious diseases, biosecurity, hospitality and maritime operations that have applied the best available public health, science and engineering insights to their recommendations.

The Healthy Sail Panel’s 65-plus-page report includes 74 detailed best practices to protect the public health and safety of guests, crew and the communities where cruise ships call. Recommendations include testing, the use of face coverings, and enhanced sanitation procedures on ships and in terminals. The Panel is chaired by Governor Mike Leavitt, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Healthy Sail Panel Recommendations

“The Healthy Sail Panel spent the last four months studying how to better protect the health and safety of guests and crew aboard cruise ships,” said Dr. Gottlieb. “Taken as a comprehensive approach, we believe the Panel’s robust public health recommendations will help inform strategies for a safe resumption of sailing.”

Gov. Leavitt said: “This Panel undertook an ambitious, cross-disciplinary, public health examination to develop standards and guidelines that create the highest level of safety in the complex environment of a cruise ship. We studied the industry’s experiences combating the pandemic – and we then incorporated the many lessons learned and advances made by medicine and science over the past six months. The Panel’s recommendations are grounded in the best scientific and medical information available and are intended to meaningfully mitigate public health risks to those who sail.”

“We understand our responsibility to act aggressively to protect the health and safety of our guests and crew, as well as the communities where we sail, and we asked the Panel to help us learn how to best live up to that responsibility,” said Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group. “We were inspired by the depth of the Panel’s work and their determination to help us establish the strongest protocols in the travel industry.”

“The Healthy Sail Panel’s recommendations are robust and comprehensive, and they reflect the intense focus the panelists brought to their work,” said Frank Del Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. “We know that both authorities around the globe and consumers expect cruise lines to provide the safest, healthiest vacations we can, and this work demonstrates our commitment to doing just that.”

Fain and Del Rio said each company will use the Panel’s recommendations to inform the development of new, detailed operating protocols, which will be submitted to the CDC and other authorities around the globe for review and approval– an important milestone in the process of resuming sailing around the world. The Panel’s work is open sourced for others to incorporate in their protocols as well; Governor Leavitt and Dr. Gottlieb expressed appreciation that authorities and other cruise companies had already engaged in the Panel’s work as observers.

The Healthy Sail Panel identified five areas of focus every cruise operator should address to improve health and safety for guests and crew, and reduce the risk of infection and spread of COVID-19 on cruise ships:

Testing, Screening and Exposure Reduction

Sanitation and Ventilation

Response, Contingency Planning and Execution

Destination and Excursion Planning

Mitigating Risks for Crew Members

In each category, the Healthy Sail Panel created practical and actionable recommendations to address specific safety concerns. Among the recommendations are key strategies such as:

Taking aggressive measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 from entering a ship through robust education, screening and testing of both crew and guests prior to embarkation

Reducing transmission via air management strategies and enhanced sanitation practices

Implementing detailed plans to address positive infection on board, including contingencies for onboard treatment, isolation and rapid evacuation and repatriation

Closely controlling shore excursions

Enhanced protection for crew members