FX.co ★ New trends in travel industry under pandemic conditions

Distance does not matter

Governments closed state borders as one of the measures to contain the corona infection. However, people have shifted focus towards domestic tourism as an excellent alternative. This trend has been gaining popularity, especially in the countries embracing vast territories such as the US, Russia, India, China, Canada, Brazil, etc. Even suspension of passenger flights by air companies around the world does not pose an obstacle but encourage people to explore all remote spots inside their home countries. Travel companies promptly adjusted for such interest and developed a lot of new tours.

Travel cashback

In response to the coronavirus restrictions in 2020, travel companies came up with cashback offers. This concept was introduced recently in many countries and aroused avid interest among tourists. In a nutshell, the state will refund a part of the money spent by residents on domestic tours. This incentive has been actively promoted across Russia and in other countries, albeit with some amendments and specifics. Governments want to kill two birds with one stone. They aim to support the crisis-stricken sector and revive interest in domestic travelling. Remarkably, this state-backed program has already proved its value and made up for budget spending.

Demand backlog

The concept of demand backlog typical for the travel industry suits perfectly the situation in which the sector has been trapped over the last year. Demand backlog will develop in two directions this year. On the one hand, those tourists who booked their holidays before the imposition of lockdown measures will be able to use their bookings as soon as the vaccination campaign is over. On the other hand, all those who were spooked by the infection threat will be able to relax and eventually go on a journey which they had to cancel due to the pandemic. In both cases, demand backlog will benefit the whole tourism sector.

Offline over

Almost all industries of the service sector relocated to the online environment on the back of the pandemic restrictions. The travel industry is no exception. Massive online booking forced travel agencies to close their offline offices. So, the era of classic travel agencies has come to an end. Nearly all agencies now operate from the Internet with even better efficiency. The weighty argument for online booking is tremendous time saving. So, customers are certainly pleased that they do not have to visit a travel agency anymore.

Tailor-made tours and VIP service

The battle with the coronavirus infection has not been won yet. At the same time, people are not ready to give up the pleasure of travelling. Savvy holiday makers now shift focus away from package holidays opting for individual offers. Traditionally, this sector sells more expensive tours as it implies an individual approach to any client. Interestingly, people are getting more health-conscious. So, choosing between inconveniences and higher travel expenses, lots of clients prefer to pay more for their holidays. Hence, most tour operators are expanding the sector of individual VIP tours.