In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many industries have been affected, but the worst part was seen and felt almost instantly in the travel and tourism industry. It is sad to see how the technological revolution that brought us all together by making travel and tourism easy and affordable, generating 4 billion trips a year, is struggling to deal with a virus that requires us to stay at home and let’s not move

The coronavirus was first identified in late 2019 in the Wuhan region of China and is now present in dozens of countries around the world.

Some of the critical details to keep in mind:

â— More than 3 million cases have been confirmed.

â— More than 200,000 deaths have been recorded.

â— 210 countries or territories have been impacted.

â— Number of cases “recovering” from symptoms more than 800 thousand. Rest still under observation or quarantine.

â— The World Health Organization declared the spread of the Coronavirus COVID-19 a global pandemic effective March 11.

Tea covid-19 outbreakIt is inevitable that it will have an impact on the travel industry, not just limited to hotels, but it has greatly affected airlines, cruise ships, and as a result, even the car rental industry.

Let’s take a look at the global statistics for more clarity..

  • From January 1, 2020 to February 29, 2020, the room revenue trend experienced a sharp decline globally. It showed a monthly decline of 16%, for the month of January to February, this analysis was conducted by RateGain, a travel technology company.

  • The downward trend in room revenue can be directly attributed to the decrease in overall booking during the same month. According to the research, it showed that bookings made during the month for any future date in the next 12 months, found that bookings were down globally by 9%.

  • The company even compared the percentage change in booking data pulled from the first week (March 1-7, 2020) to the second week of March (March 8-14, 2020).

  • According to the analysis, all destination countries showed a decline in bookings in Week 8. For example, Italy saw a staggering 20% ​​decline from the first week to the second week of March due to the full lockdown across the country.

How to cope with such difficult moments?

  • Unfortunately, we do not know when this crisis will end; all we can do is hope and practice social distancing.

  • What we do know is that millions of jobs are at risk, which we must protect, especially vulnerable segments such as SMEs, the self-employed, women and young people. We need to have survival mechanisms/plans for companies.

  • One thing is certain: we need strong support to navigate the unprecedented economic and social impact of the coronavirus. Currently, what we need are fiscal and monetary measures that help protect jobs, help the liquidity and operations of the self-employed and companies and speed up the recovery.

  • To help all hoteliers today, we need a travel technology platform like OPTIMA from RateGain. It helps hotels maximize their chances of getting a significant share of the business available in the market. The software helps to better understand competitors who are in the same business environment.

  • As you may know, tourism is an important provider of employment for many people, especially women and young people. It is also believed to be the sector with proven ability to recover and help other sectors as well.

  • Finally, but importantly, we need a strong mitigation and recovery plan that supports the sector and helps drive economy-wide returns and jobs.

In conclusion, these were some steps that the travel and hospitality industry can take for a better and more secure future.