Caution needed for global travel and hospitality even with vaccine roll-out

The long-awaited COVID-19 vaccines are finally being administered to a small number of front-line workers first, rightfully so. Next on the priority list will be at-risk members of the population – the elderly and those with serious underlying health issues.

The situation is still precarious though. The emergence and rapid spread of a new variant of coronavirus in the UK resulted in strict tier four rules for millions of people. The new variant has now moved beyond British shores, so we still all need to be vigilant.

However, for the hospitality sector, the powerful new vaccines have raised hopes that life may soon return to normal and that people will eventually be able to travel more easily. According to a recent report in Arabian Business, it was anticipated that: “…international travel will start to resume to a greater extent by spring 2021, as travel restrictions ease in direct response to vaccination access."

This article was published before the news of the coronavirus variant, so only time will tell if this is true.

Any optimism needs to be tempered with realism and caution. My concern is that travellers and hoteliers alike will think they have weathered the storm and begin to get careless in terms of taking protective health measures. I believe hotels need to keep the current protocols fully in place for the foreseeable future. The ‘new normal’ must stay – at least for a year or so.

Plus, the vaccines roll-out is likely to be skewed in favour of wealthier countries such as the US, UK and in Europe and the Middle East. Others will have to wait.

So, despite the collective hopes of the hospitality sector, unfettered international travel is not on the horizon any time soon in my opinion. I foresee that in 2021 business travellers will continue to limit their number of trips, while leisure travellers will still generally opt for hyper-local rather than hyper global. That’s all good – baby-steps back to recovery is the right approach.

International news outlet Science Alert predicts that herd immunity from the coronavirus within the general population will not be achieved until mid-2022, when around two billion people globally will have been vaccinated.

And according to industry projections, it is more likely that there will be a staggered re-introduction of travel movements, beginning around July 2021. While this means more waiting for our embattled industry, patience in this case is not just a virtue it is essential for all concerned.

That does not mean we cannot whirr gently back to life. In terms of hotel-based events like weddings and corporate functions, there is no reason why new bookings can’t be put on the calendar for 2021/2022. Indeed, at Hashoo Group we are gearing up to host large events once again, but with all appropriate safety and sanitation measures fully maintained.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we must keep our heads.

https://www.arabianbusiness.com/transport/455577-how-will-an-effective-coronavirus-vaccine-impact-international-travel

 https://www.sciencealert.com/covid-19-vaccine-timeline