Safe travel suggestion: What the “new normal” Travel will look like

The Covid-19 pandemic will change the way of life and human behavior in a new direction.

The alternative way of life, “New Normal” is a change in behavior to continue normal activities by adding a health protocol to prevent Covid-19 transmission.

“There is an expectation mostly driven by hope – which we all know is not a strategy – that the current global lockdown is temporary and that we will emerge the other side stronger, better and, well, normal

-Timothy O’Neil-Dunne.”

Good news , May 2020, world prepare the “New Normal” for Tourist & Travel. This is the best practices as Travel and Tourism moves from crisis to recovery.

Nepal Tourism has become the most affected sector because of the recent corona virus outbreak. Nepal pending travel campaign #visitnepal2020 and not issuing visa for traveler and also lockdown the country because of the pandemic.

They hold trekking to Himalayas, tour and leisure in Kathmandu and Pokhara, pilgrimage tour in Buddhist and Hindus sacred sites as the main travel destination in Nepal.

Sherpa, porter, hotel, teahouses in Himalayas, restaurants, tour agencies are suffering and lost their business.

But after 2-3 month of lockdown and travel restriction worldwide, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) as a global tourism institution is developing a new protocol in the world of tourism.

This is the great time to rebuild trust and confidence for Tour and travel industries.

All travel industries worldwide prepare themselves for Travel Health or The Smart Travel Protocol.

This is a condition or protocol that suggested to be followed either by traveler or travel industries during and after the pandemic.

Smart travel protocol or “New Normal” Global Tourism Protocol contain of protocol comprising practical guidelines and instructions for improving health standards.

“Traveling in the New Normal” becomes part of WTTC’s plan.

This plan includes critical steps, new standards, protocols and coordinated actions, which offer a safe and responsible guide to recover the global Travel & Tourism sector as consumers start to planning trips and travel again.

These developments of “New Normal” Global Tourism Protocol are base on World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines

These guidelines must consider these 4 pillars:

• Ensure the readiness of operational and staff of Travel and Tour agencies, Restaurant and hotel.
• Ensure the traveler’s safety and experience.
• Rebuild tourist confidence and self-confidence in traveling.
• Implement viable policy to prevent Covid-19 transmission.

Hotels, guesthouses, eco-lodge accommodation units, tourist destinations, recreation centers, transportation facilities, Trekking trails, trekking industries and restaurants in Nepal can adopt this protocol.

The major aim of this global protocol is to rebuild trust among traveler, so they could travel safely after travel restrictions were lifted.

This “New Normal” Global Tourism Protocol will provide a global consistency of destinations and countries and guidance for travel providers, operators and tourists, related to fresh approaches to health and hygiene after Covid-19.

Technology and digital media also encourage to lead the travel industries to the new routines and ways of life. So they can prioritize health and hygiene standards for tourism.

The example of these protocols is there will be new protocols for check-in involving digital technology before flight.

Many of airport and restaurant will provide hand sanitizer stations.

Tour and travel agencies will encourage contactless payment instead of cash.

Few Hotels and accommodation in Nepal provide lift, so practice social distancing is easier.

It because maintain the 2 meter social distancing rule can be harder where using lifts. Other practical guide are frequent room cleaning and encourage staff in Hotels and restaurant to wearing gloves all times then changed more often.

Travelers at airports will test before they fly and upon arrival at their destination airport.

They must practice social distancing measures at the airport and during boarding and wearing masks while onboard.

What is New Normal after Pandemic?

New normal is a change in behavior to continue to carry out normal activities but by adding a health protocol to prevent Covid-19 transmission.

The corona virus pandemic change the way of our life and human behavior in a new direction. After the pandemic ended, this situation was known as new normal.

After pandemic, there are some habits can not do by humans, especially the habit of physical contact.

New normal after pandemic is implement the fresh way of living that prioritize hygienic, health and encouraging technology.

7 stages to the new normal  by Timothy O’Neil-Dunne

Timothy O’Neil-Dunne is a long time Travel Geek and travel business,

that writer about travel in particular aviation, technology, startups and innovation in long and short forms.

He writes the 7 stages to the new normal after doing research and spent the past two weeks researching the story and model.

Timothy O’Neil-Dunne spoke to a great number of his colleagues, acquaintances and friends.
He prepares a chart of the seven stages that we must pass through.

Here are the 7 stages to the new normal by Timothy O’Neil-Dunne

You can read the complete articles in webintravel , 7 stages to the new normal  by Timothy O’Neil-Dunne.

How to adopt “new normal” for restaurants and cafe at Tourist center?

Thamel, Kathmandu is the most well-known tourist center in Nepal. There are so many excellent restaurants either western, local Nepalese cuisine or Asian culinary and café.

Restaurants and café encourage to adopt “new normal” global protocol to ensure traveler and staff safety. This is important to rebuild customer trust and confidence.

• Staff prioritizing health and cleanliness of the restaurant.

They encourage restaurants to prioritize health and hygiene protocols during service.

This includes implementing new policies at restaurant such as providing social distance, using thermal scanning and wearing masks for the staff.

They request the restaurant to communicate to customers this new policy, to preventing the spread of viruses in the restaurant area.

• Social distance in restaurants.

They recommend each restaurant to apply social distance and display it. For example, using visual information to make monitoring easier.

In case, there are customers who do not apply social distance, the staff can warn them.

Social distance in restaurants can be done by limiting seating capacity and customer queues. According to WHO recommendations, the safe distance is one meter.

Restaurant can encourage digital technology for example online food delivery services.

• Minimize touch points by introducing digital facilities to staff and guests.

For example, display menu using mobile application or e-menus, if possible.

This is used to minimize physical touch in restaurants. These digital innovations can be applied if possible, for example provide digital queues, electronic menus, virtual shopping, to online food delivery services.

• Mobile Payment/Online Payment/Digital Money

Restaurants promote payment method without contact Restaurants. It is excellent ideas to encourage implementation of campaign for payments without direct physical contact.

They expect restaurants to implement food payment transactions in a variety of ways that are electronic or online, for example through receipts sent by e-mail.

Payment by credit or debit card also can limit the money exchange, since money can be media transmitter for viruses.

Restaurants also encourage to provide free WiFi facilities to encourage customers to make payments online.

• Hand washing area at the entrance and exit of the restaurant.

They recommend the restaurant to provide a washing place at the entrance and exit, so customers can clean their hands first with cleaning fluid.

They recommend restaurants to provide hand sanitizers in every corner of the restaurant, for example, bathrooms.

How do you adopt the “new normal” as a hotel & accommodation provider?

Hotels in Kathmandu and the teahouses along the trails become unoccupied. They can’t run the business because no one come to travel and doing a trek.

Just like other industries that try to implement “New Normal”, it is great for Hotels to implement safe travel to ensure traveler and staff safety.

This is important to rebuild customer trust and recover the business.

Many of hotels and teahouses in trekking trail provide basic room and service. Implement innovation in technologies seem difficult, because most of the accommodation still using paper and the building still not adopt a smart building.

Even though re- test the policy is significant steps to recover the business.

• Room cards and key

Hotels encourage to focus on Room cards or keys of a hotel room, because Room cards or keys are the most touched in hotels.

WTTC recommends that the hotel re-test the guidelines for janitors. The evaluation focus is the areas or points most touched by humans, both officers and guests.

• Ensure social distance for guests Hotel

WTTC recommends that the hotel provide a marker or information about it at the hotel.

Most hotels in Nepal doesn’t have lifts, but nowadays some recent building of big hotels and boutique hotels have an elevator.

So, Hotels encourage to put warning or guide inside the hotel elevator regarding social distance.

• Ensure Hotel staff readiness.

Retrain hotel staff with health protocol Covid-19. Hotel management can conduct training for relevant staff in infection control such as social distance and improved hygiene.

For example, washing hands and using masks and gloves.

• Eliminate unnecessary items in the hotel rooms

To avoid physical contact or touch from foreign objects, then the hotel should eliminate unnecessary items, or object that can transmit a virus, if touched by humans.

For example accessories to make rooms looks beautiful.

• Encourage guest to use Online Payment

It is good practical for Hotels to encourage payment for rooms without physical contact.

If possible, paying hotel room without physical contact. The suggestion, the hotel can integrate technology to enable automatic payments that can be done through an online system.

Order from hotels, website and pay online.

• Communicate to guest about the New Normal protocol

The hotel is expected to have a clear, consistent and ongoing communication with customers. Communication is important regarding implement new health and hygiene regulations or protocols.

This can be done both digital and physical at the hotel. Hotels can make notification in their online websites, so traveler will notice and hotels will regain the trust from the traveler so can recover the business.

• Opening of hotel restaurants and meeting rooms with health and hygiene protocols

The hotel is expected to open restaurants and meeting rooms by prioritizing health and hygiene protocols.

Provide hand sanitizer, wearing masks and provide guidelines for social distancing.

 

How do you adopt the “new normal” as Tour and Trekking Agencies?

 

Hundred tour and agencies lose the business because of travel restriction to limit virus transmission during pandemic.

These spring is the empties spring in Nepal. This season should be best season for trekking to Himalayas. Thousand traveler planning to trek to Himalayas this year, but they must cancel the booking for the safety reason.

It makes the many peoples that have to work as a guide, Sherpa, porter and operate teahouses along the trail lose the business.

• Provide online payment in your website

Many local tour operators in Nepal not provide online payment in their websites. This time is great opportunities to refresh the website and do integration with online payment.

Online payment make traveler easier manage the budget. Being part of OTA or Online Travel Agency like tourradar, bookmundi, TripAdvisor and else is making online payment easier.

But their fee could be very high for startup or local travel agencies. This is not advised if you want to recover the business for local tour and travel agencies.

It is wise to refresh your company websites, integrate or provide online payment or bank transfer.

• Ensure your staff with readiness and awareness

Retrain your guide, Sherpa, porter and your travel expert to implement standard health protocol and maintain social distancing.

Provide them with a mask and hand sanitizer.

 

• Provide virtual Meeting and give your clients information digital

It is important to regain your client trust with providing information as clear as possible. Conduct technical meeting or FAQ using virtual meeting room.

Google meet or google hangout is a great choice. It’s free and you can have a video meeting with your client and guides online in one room. I did not recommend Zoom because of security reason and zoom bombing.

peoples using WhatsApp to do video call conference, but if you want to share itineraries and show digital document proper time, online meeting is a better choice to provide complete and comprehensive information, because it support share screen.

Usually, you will sent itineraries to them by WhatsApp or email, but sometime this make your customer overwhelming because need to download and it is not workable.

• Ensure your customer safety by creating new policies to ensure their safety.

Re-test term and condition. Inform them clear cancelation and procedure to regain the trust of your clients.

Discuss with your client about their consent and help them resolve the possibilities according to Nepal government.

• Encourage digital technology Touchless Digital Itineraries

How we apply “new normal” as Traveler?

Be smart traveler.

• Using Smart payment.

Ask and search agent on tour that provide online payment. Money can be media to transmit viruses.

• Prepare all document digital

Nepal government provide online form to implement Visa online. You can visit the website and apply Visa online. If possible apply a biometric passport.

Ask tour provider, what document that you need to sign in or fulfill. And confirm to them, if it possible to send digital version.

• Use Debit card for transaction or Visa when you are shopping.

I find most of the big shop in Thamel like North face, Columbia and Sherpa provide debit card for payment.

• Social distancing based on WHO standard

Social distancing make you are not possible to go in a group tour. I encourage you to choose the tour or search the trek or destination that not so crowded.

• Using personal protection, hand sanitizer, mask, anti-bacterial wet tissue
• Increase your immunity system during the travel.

Your immune system weakens after your age is 65. Get enough sleep, eat more actual food, eat more healthy fats and more fermented foods or take a probiotic supplement.

Limit your sugar consumption and stay hydrated . Manage your stress levels by hiring an agent or someone to manage your travel, so you are stress free.

Consume enough vitamin fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C is one of the biggest immune system boosters. Vitamin B6 is vital to supporting biochemical reactions in the immune system and Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that helps the body fight off infection.

• Engage yourself in moderate exercise.

Regular physical activity can strengthen your immune system and help your body fight off infections and viruses. Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity for three days a week. This can include walking or other low impact workouts.

• Ask your tour provider and hotels wheatear they have a policy to ensure the safety.

 

My Last Thought

The world can’t stop because of the viruses, our life become slower because of the pandemic. But everybody try to regain their strength to against COVID-19.

World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), WHO, and CDC start to developing new global protocol, as guidelines for us as traveler and also as business owner to recover.

These can be a positive start for us to adapt the fresh way of life, after pandemic.

It because there are some habits we can not do anymore as a human, the habit of physical contact.

So what we can do is to keep our awareness during traveling and try to implement the fresh way of living that prioritize hygienic, health and encouraging technology.

Be smart traveler and keep safe.

 

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