28 Apr 2020

Walking towards a new normality. – Tourism companies in the return to post-Covid activity

– Financing and technology to survive the crisis.

– The transport sector adapts to the new situation required.

The tourism sector, especially smaller companies and travel agencies, must optimize technology to seek new opportunities for both business and capitalization. The companies’ future strategies are aimed at the medium and long term since, at the moment, there is no immediate return to normality, but it will occur in a staggered manner for tourist destinations. Collaboration between companies will also be essential. The way of managing credit operations will change and the sector will apply common strategies..

Some airlines have their reservation platforms open from the second half of July. Of course, with restrictions and not to all destinations where they operate. First domestic travel will be standardized and then European journeys. As we have commented in other published blogs, long-haul journeys are those that take the longest to regain normality

In the Mabrian Technologies, infographic, it can be seen that the scheduled flights already show signs of recovery as of June. Initially, Portugal and Greece seem to have a faster recovery than that expected for Spain or Italy.

In statements made in recent days, from the European Union, the Commissioner for the Internal Market and Industry, Mr. Thierry Breton, a French national, believes that this in summer will begin to travel progressively.

In the roadmap of the European Union it is highlighted that the exit from the confinement of the different states should be coordinated, and restrictive measures should be applied in each destination taking into account epidemiological criteria. The recommendation of the Community Executive calls for the restrictions on territories to be gradually lifted in order to allow for normalization within the Schengen area. In this line of work, it is highlighted that tourism must be one of the EU’s recovery priorities on the grounds that it was also one of the first sectors to receive the impact and the last one in which it can probably return to normality. An extraordinary session is scheduled for next September to deal with the reconversion of the sector, which is already working on its own evolution, well on the way to the new strategic, environmental and digital reality. (See the Blogs of March 17th and March 10th past)

What was already a plan to be developed in the medium term, with the current situation has caused an acceleration and the changes originally planned, have now become imperatives. The companies and organizations that have not worked in this sense will surely be the ones that will have the worst time being able to get out of this crisis. Mass tourism, especially in sun and beach destinations, will give way to more responsible, innovative and sustainable tourism.

Some of the different European destinations have already made progress in this reconversion of the sector. Portugal, for example, has already created a “Clean & Safe” seal to generate confidence in tourists and visitors. Other tourist destinations also work in this regard. In Catalonia, administrations and companies in the sector have already had different virtual meetings to implement policies and actions that, together, generate trust and tranquility. It will be the way to have a faster recovery. Instead, the MICE sector works with the possibility that face-to-face events could be a reality in September. The reactivation of this segment would start with local events and, especially, corporate meetings that need a “face to face”. Anyway, the return to normality will be totally different from what we have known so far (see BLOG of March 30th). Even, surely, the clients will be different and their needs too. In this new facet of event organization, adapt quickly to the new situation required and technology will be decisive. The Meetings Tourism sector continues to look to the future and is working on its recovery. To keep the sector informed and advised on the evolution of the crisis situation, the Catalan Tourism Agency regularly updates a detailed report on Tourism outgoing Markets.

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El sector del transporte, especialmente las compañías de servicios turísticos, va fuertemente ligado a la evolución del turismo. En este sentido, las compañías han tenido que adaptarse con celeridad a los nuevos requerimientos que ha comportado la pandemia y han habilitado diferentes protocolos para garantizar la seguridad, la higiene y la salud de los usuarios del servicio. Desde principios de marzo, antes de la salida en el BOE con la normativa en que obliga a los pasajeros de tren, avión, autobús / autocar o coches privados con conductor a usar unas normas de prevención y seguridad en sus trayectos que se podrían hacer extensivas durante algunas semanas más con el retorno a la “nueva normalidad”. El requerimiento, amparado por lo dispuesto en el Real Decreto 463/2020 del 14 de marzo, “en los transportes públicos y privados complementarios de viajeros en autobús / autocar, las empresas adoptarán las medidas necesarias para procurar la máxima separación posible entre los usuarios, de tal manera que no podrán ser ocupados en más de un tercio de los asientos disponibles respecto a la máxima capacidad del vehículo “

Precisely transport companies and administrations are aware of the economic difficulty that it can represent for the entire sector to make available to passengers and users only a third of its capacity as currently policy by regulations and allowing a safe distance to be maintained between passengers. This recommendation would not be sustainable and must be accompanied by other additional measures such as the use of masks and other additional protective equipment that passengers must use.

On the other hand, the option that users who cannot access the reduced offer of public transport have to travel by private vehicle, bicycle or on foot would not be sustainable, especially for those who do so by private vehicle. On the one hand, it would lead to greater saturation of the roads and, on the other, environmental damage, especially after restrictive policies have been applied to private transport in recent years to promote the use of public transport and other measures such as the implementation of march of the “Low Emission Zone” that entered into force in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area this 1st. January 2020. (See Blog of January 7th)

It should also be borne in mind that the investments that transport companies have made in adapting their fleets to the environmental requirements of the European Union have been considerable. In the particular case, the company Avant Grup has 99% of its entire fleet with EuroV and EuroVI motorized vehicles, with a minimum level of emissions and in accordance with the maximum EU label.