WiT’S first Travel Roadshow kicked off 25 March on a positive note
with speakers believing that the industry, both travel and events, will
emerge better and stronger after this cataclysmic crisis.
The fact that we launched the Roadshow, held at the Marina Bay Sands
Hybrid Broadcast Studio, with a mixed reality storytelling component,
taking our audience on an immersive road trip that took in the
Himalayas, Iceland, Bangkok and the beaches of Southeast Asia,
demonstrated how this crisis has forced us to redesign experiences and
be more engaging.
Maunik Thacker, senior vice president, marketing, Marina Bay Sands,
who went on the road trip with me said adversity had bred innovation and
as the industry figured out how to adapt to changed circumstances,
venues such as his had to move rapidly to embrace new technology to
bring virtual and hybrid events to the next level.
During the panel on “Air, After A Year of No Travel”, Subhas Menon,
director general, Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), said
airlines would emerge more resilient — “we are still around” — and with a
stronger focus on sustainability. His association has set
sustainability goals at 50% reduction in net emissions by 2050, based on
2005 levels.
Steve Saxon, partner, China, McKinsey, said travel would become safer
following the implementation of safety and hygiene protocols enacted as
a result of Covid.
//safety and hygiene protocols
/Travel-News/Airline-News/Infection-protection-All-for-one-one-for-all-2147370336
//INSERT PHOTO
IATA’s Vinoop Goel says the crisis will propel the industry towards digitisation.
Vinoop Goel, Asia-Pacific regional director of airports &
external relations, International Air Transport Association (IATA), said
the crisis will propel the industry towards digitisation — getting rid
of paper — and the use of biometrics for identity.
Julie Kyse, vice president, global air partnerships, Expedia Group,
cited “gratitude” — that having had it taken from us, we humans realise
how precious the freedom to travel is and how important the industry is
to economies.
[SUBHEAD] As vaccinations pick up, there is hope for bubbles to open safely
Heading 2
A medical expert, Dr Walter Lim of Fullerton Health, announced his
organisation had crossed the 200,000 mark in numbers of people
vaccinated in Singapore (his is one of several entities involved in the
national vaccination programme) and expressed optimism that as citizens
get vaccinated, restrictions on local life as well as border openings
would ease. As of 22 March, across the world, at least 458,422,530 doses
of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered and in Singapore, 1,071,908
shots have been given.
//INSERT
Dr Walter Lim is hopeful that as the vaccination pace
picks up in Singapore and across key Asia Pacific countries chances of
bubbles opening and staying open are high.
Fullerton Health was involved in the pilot of the IATA Travel Pass
with Singapore Airlines, and Dr Lim said the technology and processes
that have been put in place by airlines were admirable and would go a
long way towards reassuring governments of safe and responsible border
openings in a measured way.
//IATA Travel Pass
/Travel-News/Airline-News/Explainer-What-you-need-to-know-about-IATA-Travel-Pass
He said he had high hopes that as the vaccination pace picks up in
Singapore, and across key Asia Pacific countries such as Philippines,
Malaysia and Australia, chances of bubbles opening and staying open were
high, and expressed most optimism for the Singapore-Australia bubble.
//bubbles opening
/Travel-News/Government/Taiwan-Palau-travel-bubble-poised-for-1-April-launch
//Singapore-Australia bubble
/Travel-News/Government/Bubbling-up-Singapore-Australia-travel-talks
[SUBHEAD] All about data in the DC and AC era: urban planning, delivery of services and identity
It does feel things are moving in the right direction. This week, I
attended GeoConnect Asia, a physical conference advertised as 500
delegates, and I did not have to take the Antigen Rapid Test, unlike the
two previous events held earlier in the year when I had to.
The government has also announced further easing of restrictions,
allowing for live arts and live sports events for up to 750 and business
events to be scaled up to 750 with pre-testing and up to 250 without
testing.
Indeed, the industry is abuzz with news of a major physical esports
event, One Esports Dota 2 Singapore Major, to be held at the Fairmont
from 27 March - 4 April. And Riot Games is understood to be heading
Singapore’s way next March.
//further easing of restrictions
https://www.meetings-conventions-asia.com/News/Destinations/Singapore-opens-to-even-larger-events
The Geo Connect Asia event was held up as an example of safe opening
by demonstrating new tech (a dongle), which tracked my movements and
ensured I stayed within my cohort while at the meeting. This, together
with the mandatory Trace Together app which sits in my mobile, made me
feel like I was a rabbit being tracked everywhere.
//GeoConnect Asia
https://www.meetings-conventions-asia.com/News/Events/Inside-Singapores-latest-hybrid-exhibition-Geo-Connect-Asia
[SUBHEAD] Health, travel, identity: as intertwined as a triple decker sandwich
It is clear that while travel has been most impacted by Covid, this
period in history will touch everything, and impact the way we work,
live and play DC and AC (During and After Covid). What is also clear
that is that health, travel and identity have become as intertwined as a
triple decker sandwich.
Dr Lim, noting this was the first time he had spoken at a travel
conference, talked about the importance of the travel industry to engage
with health authorities on the linking of health, travel and identity.
From discussions at the roadshow, this appears to be the golden key
to unlocking closed doors. The development of travel passes (up to 25
are in the works) will have health and identity at its core and Steven
Greenway, strategic commercial advisor to Zamna, said radical change was
required and the industry needed to moved towards self sovereign ID
which would solve identity and health.
This gives individuals control of their digital identities, stores
documents digitally via wallet linked to travel provider app (not a
separate app) in order to maintain the relationship of the
organisation’s brand and the customer. The key is to make identity
“persistent” — connect the dots in GDPR-secure way, without creating
process/friction for the traveller, he said.
The key is there are lots of organisations trying to solve this problem — and that’s the good news.
[SUBHEAD] “Keep the human touch”, advises Maldives' Minister of Tourism
The even better news is, while all this is going on, it is possible
to reopen safely. Dr Lim held up the example of the Maldives as a
success story. Granted, its geography of natural island bubbles is an
advantage but the fact that the government thought through the process,
put systems in place, means it is possible to open safely with science
as the guiding principle, he said.
//Maldives
/Destination-Travel/Sunny-days-are-here-again-for-Maldives-tourism
Dr Abdulla Mausoom, minister of tourism, Maldives, speaking from
Delhi where he was attending a travel trade fair, said that for his
country, there was no option. “If there is no tourism, there is no
economy,” he said, and that necessitated its opening last 15 July.
INSERT
“Don’t lose the human touch, which is the strength of Asian
tourism” is the advice from Dr. Abdulla Mausoom to island resorts
across Asia looking to reopen.
He spoke of the intense coordination and collaboration that had to
take place to ensure safe opening, first of a few islands and now the
whole country is open and it’s as normal as can be, he said with a smile
as he invited all of us to visit.
It has set a target of 1.5 million arrivals and 10 million bed nights
this year, compared with the 1.7 million arrivals, and 10.7 million bed
nights achieved in 2019 — this, despite the fact that 40% of its usual
market, Asia, remains closed. And he is optimistic that slowly but
surely, markets like China and Singapore will open.
And it’s adapting to changing trends for example introducing
year-long visas for people who wish to do remote work in the Maldives.
Asked what advice he’d give island resorts across Asia that are talking
of reopening – from Phuket to Samui to Bali, he said, “Don’t lose the
human touch".
//Bali
/Travel-News/Government/Bintan-Batam-and-Bali-head-to-head-with-reopening
A good reminder that even as we talk tech, data, health and identity,
travel is a human industry and the pent-up demand, as humans wait to
fly and travel, is palpable. Indeed, AAPA’s Menon wondered if one of the
challenges that would face travel after Covid is whether there’d be
sufficient airline capacity to meet pent-up demand.
Now that would be a good problem to have. So as Dr Lim advised us during the roadshow, “Hang on in there".
Source: Web in Travel
https://www.webintravel.com/travel-will-emerge-safer-and-more-sustainable-digitized-and-grateful/