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how to find sustainable travel companies

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People said the pandemic made them want to travel more responsibly in the future.

Now new data indicates they’re actually doing it.

According to a report published in January by the World Travel & Tourism Council and Trip.com Group:

  • Nearly 60% of travelers have chosen more sustainable travel options in the last couple of years.
  • Nearly 70% are actively seeking sustainable travel options.

But finding companies that are serious about sustainability isn’t easy, said James Thornton, CEO of tour company Intrepid Travel.  

“You see hotels saying they’re sustainable, and then you’re using these little travel bottles for shampoos and shower gels,” he said.

It’s all just “greenwashing,” he said, referencing the term that describes companies’ efforts to appear more environmentally sound than they are.

For a company to say they’re “100% sustainable” or they’re “eco-conscious” …  doesn’t mean anything.

James Thornton

CEO, Intrepid Travel

The term has risen in popularity alongside the increase in demand for sustainable products and services.

The result is a mix of those who are truly dedicated to the cause — and those who sprinkle eco-buzzwords and photographs of seedlings, forests and other “green” imagery in their marketing materials, with no real action to back up their claims.

Finding companies that are sustainable

Be wary of these tactics, said Thornton.

“For a company to say they’re ‘100% sustainable’ or they’re ‘eco-conscious’ …  doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “I would urge travelers to be very cautious when they’re seeing these words, and to really dig in and look in a bit more detail.”

Consumer interest in sustainable travel has changed considerably in the past two decades, said Thornton. He said when he joined Intrepid travel 18 years ago, “people would look at us like we’re a bit crazy” when the company talked about sustainability.

Now, many companies are doing it, whether they are serious, or not.

Thornton said he believes the travel industry is currently divided into three categories. One third have “incredibly good intentions, and [are] working very actively on addressing the climate crisis … and they’re making good progress.”

Another third have “good intentions but [aren’t] actually taking action yet. And often … they’re not quite sure how to take action.”

The final third “is just utterly burying its head in the sand and hoping that this thing is going to go away, and the truth of the matter is — it isn’t.”

To identify companies in the first category, Thornton recommends travelers look for three critical things.  

1. A history of sustainability

To ascertain whether a company may be jumping on the eco-bandwagon, examine its history, said Thornton.

He advises looking for “a long history of association with issues of sustainability, or is this something that only just appeared?”

Intrepid Travel CEO James Thornton.

Source: Intrepid Travel

If the messaging is new for the company, that’s not a deal breaker, he said.

“But that would then encourage the customer to probably want to look in a bit more detail to see if what a company actually does has rigor behind it,” he said, “Or whether it’s something that’s just being done for marketing sake — and therefore greenwashing.”

2. Check for measurements

Next, travelers should see if the company measures its greenhouse gas emissions, said Thornton.

“The honest truth is that every travel company is ultimately contributing towards the climate crisis,” he said. “So the best thing any travel company can start to do is measure the greenhouse gas emissions it creates.”

To do this, Thornton advised travelers to check the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.

“The Glasgow Declaration website lists the organizations that have agreed to actively reduce their emissions … and actually have a climate plan that shows how they’re doing that,” he said.

Signatories must publish their climate plan, which is monitored by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, he said.

“Consumers can use this as a way to check if the company they’re booking with is serious about decarbonization,” he said, adding that more than 700 organizations are on the list.

Thornton said travelers can also check the Science Based Targets Initiative, which is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Its website has a dashboard that details emission-reducing commitments made by more than 4,500 companies worldwide, including American Express Global Business Travel, the United Kingdom’s Reed & Mackay Travel and Australia’s Flight Centre Travel Group.

3. Look for accreditations

Finally, travelers can check for independent accreditations, said Thornton.

One of the most rigorous and impressive is the B Corp Certification, he said.

“It took Intrepid three years to become a B Corp,” he said.

Other companies with B Corp status include Seventh Generation, Ben & Jerry’s, Aesop — and Patagonia, which Thornton called “arguably the most famous B Corp in the world.”

To get it, companies are reviewed by the non-profit B Lab and a certification lasts for three years, said Thornton.

Kristen Graff, director of sales and marketing at Indonesia’s Bawah Reserve resort, agreed that B Corp is the “most widely respected” certification.

“The other one is the Global Sustainable Tourism Council,” she said. “These actually do an audit and are legit.”

Bawah Reserve, a resort in Indonesia’s Anambas Islands, is applying for B Corp certification. The resort uses solar power and desalinates drinking water on the island.

Source: Bawah Reserve

Other travel eco-certifications are less exacting, said Graff.

“Many of them are just a racket to make money,” she said.

Bawah Reserve started the process to become B Corp certified in November of 2021, said Graff. “We anticipate it will take about a year to complete,” she said.

B Corp uses a sliding scale for its certifications fees, which start at $1,000 for companies with less than $1 million in annual revenue.

“The cost is fairly minimal,” said Thornton, especially “if you’re serious about sustainability.”

He said Intrepid pays about $25,000 a year for the certification.

Other advice

Thornton also advised travelers to ask questions like:

  • Are you using renewable energy sources?
  • Is the food locally sourced?
  • Are employees from local communities?
  • Who owns the hotel?

He said there are places that are perceived to be sustainable but that are “actually owned by a casino.”

Lastly, Thornton recommends travelers look to online reviews.

“Often a little bit of research on Google … can give you a really good indication around whether a hotel or a travel experience is doing what it says it’s doing — or whether they’re actually greenwashing.”

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World

Chinese are angry at South Korea and Japan

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Travel restrictions launched in the wake of China’s border reopening may be affecting where people there are booking trips.

But it’s not out of spite, said several Chinese travelers who spoke to CNBC.

It’s because some countries aren’t letting them in easily, they said.

‘I think it’s unfair’

Reactions from Chinese travelers who spoke to CNBC were varied, ranging from indifference to confusion to anger.

“Of course, I think it’s unfair,” said one citizen, who asked to be called Bonnie. “But at the same time, we understand what’s going on.”

So far, more than a dozen countries have announced new rules for travelers departing from China. Last week, the European Union recommended that its members require Chinese travelers to take Covid tests before entering.

But Covid tests aren’t the problem, Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group, told “Squawk Box Asia” on Monday. It’s that “these policies are directed only towards mainland Chinese,” he said.

South African Mansoor Mohamed, who lives in China, agreed. “It is relatively easy and cheap to do a Covid test in China, so it will not affect my travel planning,” he said.

“However, I know that many patriotic Chinese colleagues and friends will avoid those countries for now because the practice of only testing passengers arriving from China is discriminatory,” he said.

Of course, China requires travelers to test negative before entering China, and has for three years.

The difference, Mohamed said, is that “every arrival [to China], including Chinese nationals … [is] subjected to the same rules.”

Where the Chinese are going

Gao Dan told CNBC she is planning to travel out of the province of Qinghai for the first time in more than two years. But she said she’s staying in China, adding that she “hasn’t looked into what other countries’ travel policies are,” according to a CNBC translation.

Others are booking trips abroad, but some not to their first-choice destinations — namely Japan and South Korea.

One traveler, named Bonnie, told CNBC her friends in China are going to Thailand rather than South Korea, even though “they wouldn’t have considered Thailand” before.

Tuul & Bruno Morandi | The Image Bank | Getty Images

“When China said they were opening the borders in January, all my friends said they’re going to Japan and Korea,” said Bonnie.

But they couldn’t get visas, she said. “So they are now going to Thailand.”   

Rein said Chinese travelers are now headed to Singapore and Thailand because “both countries are welcoming us.”

Of the top destinations Chinese nationals searched after the border reopening announcement, those are the only two that haven’t imposed new restrictions on incoming Chinese travelers.

Data shows search interest for outbound flights from mainland China rose by 83% in the 11 days after the announcement, compared with the 14 days before it, according to data from Trip.com Group.

During this period, search interest for Thailand and Singapore grew by 176% and 93%, respectively, according to the company.

Angrier at some more than others

Chinese officials called the rules from South Korea and others “excessive” and “discriminatory.”

But South Korea refutes claims of discrimination. Seung-ho Choi, a deputy director at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, pointed out to CNBC that the country’s rules apply to “Korean nationals and non-Korean nationals coming from China. … There is no discrimination for nationality in this measure.”

“China’s Covid situation is still worsening,” he said. The number of people traveling from China to Korea who tested positive for Covid-19 went up 14 times from November to December, he said.

The Prime Minister’s Office of Japan did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment. A representative at Japan’s Embassy in Singapore told CNBC that Japan is processing Chinese travel visa requests as usual.

Citing a discrepancy in infection information from China, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters on Dec. 27: “In order to avoid a sharp increase in the influx of new cases into the country, we are focusing efforts on entry inspections and airports,” according to an article published by Nikkei Asia.

Both Japan and South Korea have taken conservative stances toward the Covid pandemic.

Japan, in particular, has been sluggish to bounce back to pre-pandemic life, with residents showing little enthusiasm when its own border fully reopened in October 2022.  

‘A political issue’

Rein told “Squawk Box Asia” that the rules are not just about tourism.

“This is a political issue,” he said, adding that he expects Japanese stocks to be affected, singling out two cosmetics names.

Read more about China’s reopening

“I would be cautious on Shiseido. I’d be cautious on Kose, because there are going to be some boycotts,” he said. Shares of Kose were lower on the Tokyo stock exchange on Tuesday, but Shiseido was higher.

Rein said animosity toward South Korea and Japan will be short-lived.

“It’ll take about three months for the anger to dissipate,” he said. “There’s going to be massive revenge travel outside to Korea to Japan — if those two countries treat Chinese properly.”

New Zealander Darren Straker, who lives and works in Shanghai, said he, too, believes the policies are politically motivated, calling them a “last sad gasp [as] the Covid geopolitical door closes.”



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World

Pack these snacks, says nutritionist

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Travelers have a host of pathogens to dodge this winter, including the “tripledemic” of infections caused by Covid-19, flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).

But there are steps people can take to reduce their chances of getting sick, say health specialists at Spain’s SHA Wellness Clinic.

The key is to develop “a resilient immune system that can defend itself from attack by viruses and bacteria,” said Dr. Vicente Mera, SHA’s head of genomic medicine.

What to eat

“The most important thing is nutrition,” Mera said.

But drastic dieting isn’t necessary, he added. Rather, travelers can simply eat whole, plant-based foods, which can help decrease inflammation, he said.

Fiber in plant-based foods also helps the gut microbiome “fight pathogens that enter or are activated through the digestive tract,” he said.

Dr. Vicente Mera, Melanie Waxman and Philippa Harvey of SHA Wellness Clinic in Alicante, Spain.

Source: SHA Wellness Clinic

Eating a nutrient-dense diet is the top recommendation from Melanie Waxman, an integrative nutrition specialist and eating coach at SHA Wellness Clinic.

That means eating “lots of vegetables, whole grains, fresh herbs, beans, sea vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and fermented foods,” she said.

What to pack on a plane

Waxman said travelers should snack on alkaline foods to combat acidity that is commonly caused by air travel. She recommended these easy-to-pack foods:

  • Toasted nori snacks: “Great for travelling as they are light and easy to carry in small packs. Nori is alkaline and provides a good source of vitamin C, as well as omega-3 fatty acids, protein and minerals.”
  • Instant miso soup: “Contains all the essential amino acids … and restores beneficial probiotics to the intestines … great for flights and in hotel rooms as you only need to add boiling water to the sachet.”
  • Spirulina powder: “Packed with calcium and protein. It has a high chlorophyll content … is especially beneficial after spending hours in airplane cabins. The flavor can be strong so add it to a refreshing vegetable juice … [or take] as a capsule.”  
  • Plum balls: “A wonderful travel companion, as they are extremely alkaline, full of minerals that help increase energy, aid digestion, boost immunity and improve liver functions … the balls come in a container and are easy to pack in a cabin bag.”

A fermented plum, called umeboshi in Japanese, can be added to a cup of tea on a flight. It is a “very sour plum that has been fermented for at least three years,” said SHA Wellness Clinic’s Melanie Waxman.

Tomophotography | Moment | Getty Images

Breakfast

Waxman recommends drinking one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed with a glass of water before breakfast. The vinegar is “a powerful immune booster … full of probiotics,” she said.

For breakfast, a “wonderful” choice is oatmeal topped with berries, chia seeds and flax seeds, she said.

“Oats actually help the body produce melatonin more naturally,” she said. “Oats contain amino acids, potassium, B vitamins, magnesium and complex carbs … berries pack a punch of vitamin C, and the seeds provide extra omega-3 and protein.”

Jet lag

To combat jet lag, Waxman recommends taking more vitamin C.

She recommends eating sauerkraut, both before and after flying. “Fermenting cabbage causes the vitamin C and antioxidant levels to skyrocket,” she said.

Fresh vegetable juice is also great for immunity and jet lag recovery, she said.

Getting enough sleep

Sleep and immunity are closely linked, Mera said.  

“Restful sleep strengthens nature immunity,” he said, adding that poor quality, or quantity, of sleep increases the chances of falling sick.

People who average less than six hours of sleep a night, or 40 hours per week, have “a serious risk of illness,” he said.

Exercise — but don’t overdo it

Moderate exercise strengthens the immune system, Mera said.

But “30 minutes a day is more than enough,” he said. “Prolonged intense exercise can suppress the immune system.”

To avoid suppressing the immune system, travelers shouldn’t exercise to the point of exhaustion, said Dr. Vicente Mera, head of genomic medicine at SHA Wellness Clinic.

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images

Examples of beneficial exercise include running, walking, swimming and cycling, he said.

Supplements, for some

Studies indicate that certain supplements — such as vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, garlic, echinacea and green tea — may strengthen the body’s immune response, Mera said.

But, he said, they’re not necessary for everyone.

“It only compensates for nutrient deficiencies, which usually occur when nutrition is inadequate, or the immune system is very depressed,” he said.

Other recommendations

To strengthen the immune system, Waxman also suggests Epsom salt baths (“magnesium is easily absorbed through the skin”), using essential oils (“especially lavender, eucalyptus or tree tree oil”), drinking plenty of water and cutting back on alcohol, caffeine and sugar.

Mera added that relieving stress and anxiety is critical to immune health. He recommends meditation, yoga, tai chi and mindfulness to better manage emotions.

Philippa Harvey, head of SHA’s traditional Chinese medicine department, said travelers should start taking steps to strengthen their immune systems about a week before traveling.

“In TCM when someone is healthy and happy we say they have good qi, pronounced ‘chee'” she said.

She recommends eating foods that are in season, especially garlic and ginger in the autumn and winter.

She also recommends exercise and acupressure to stay healthy.

“Before we travel, a nice brisk walk in fresh air is the simplest solution,” she said.

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Business

How to find a hidden spy camera in hotel rooms and rental homes

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Nearly 60% of Americans said they were worried about hidden cameras in Airbnb homes in 2019.

And 11% of vacation home renters said they had discovered a hidden camera during a stay, according to a survey by the real estate investment company IPX1031.

Spy cameras are not a new problem. In South Korea, more than 30,000 cases of filming with hidden cameras were reported to the police between 2013 and 2018, according to the New York-based non-profit organization Human Rights Watch.

The number of hidden spy camera reports has proliferated because of the increasing accessibility and inexpensiveness of such cameras, combined with the public’s growing ability to detect them, said Kenneth Bombace, CEO of intelligence firm Global Threat Solutions.

Experts share simple methods to locate hidden spy cameras in hotel rooms and rental properties.

1. Conduct a physical search

A light switch with a hidden camera (middle) on display at a spy camera shop in South Korea on March 22, 2019.

Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images

Almost all covert cameras are concealed in household devices, such as lights, thermostats, and plugged clock radios, Bombace said.

“Look and see if anything looks like it’s out of the ordinary, and then inspect it closer,” he said.

Most spy cameras are connected to an electrical source or an electronic device, Bombace added.

He said the first thing he does in a bedroom is unplug the clock radios and put them in a drawer.

Michael O’Rourke, CEO of security consulting firm Advanced Operational Concepts, also said he does exactly that.

Even well-hidden cameras will have a small amount of reflective glass from the lens, Bombace said.

“If you use flashlights and shine them on something you think could possibly hide the camera, you will see a reflection in there, which is a pretty good way of detecting if there’s a camera,” he said.

A painting installed with a hidden camera on display at a spy camera shop on March 22, 2019. Even when a camera is hidden in another device like a thermostat or an outlet, there will be some glass in there that is reflective because there will be a lens, Bombace said.

Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images

But O’Rourke said care is needed to accurately locate hidden lenses.

“A lot of people will try to do amateur lens detection, which can work,” O’Rourke said. “However, if you don’t have a good search methodology — if you go too fast, if you’re impatient — you can miss quite a bit.”

2. Look at the Wi-Fi network

A hidden camera must be connected to a local Wi-Fi network in order to be viewed remotely, Bombace said.

Hidden cameras must be connected to a local Wi-Fi network to be viewed remotely, said Global Threat Solutions CEO Kenneth Bombace.

Hispanolistic | E+ | Getty Images

Wi-Fi scanning apps like Fing can identify devices on the network that are cameras, he said.

Those who hide cameras might use a separate Wi-Fi network to stream live video footage, but Wi-Fi scanning apps can also detect how many networks are in a residence, Bombace said.

But Kody Kinzie, a security researcher at data security and analytics firm Varonis, warned that a network scanner may not catch everything.

“The next thing you can do is look for devices that are broadcasting their own network name,” he said.

He recommended using apps like WiGLE to find devices that are “broadcasting some sort of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi network name,” Kinzie added.

3. Buy a spy camera detector

If all else fails, spy camera detectors can scan for radio frequencies connected to hidden cameras. These can be easily bought online from websites like Amazon or AliExpress.

But O’Rourke noted this method works only if the hidden camera is transmitting data.

“So many of them now have SD cards that just store data to be retrieved after someone leaves,” O’Rourke said. “And so these are much more difficult to detect.”

Bombace added that while it is possible to buy a radio frequency scanner, the cheaper ones are probably not that good.

“Like anything else, you get what you pay for — if it’s $30, it’s probably not that good,” Bombace said. “Better ones are going to cost hundreds or even over $1,000.”

What to do if you find a camera

After locating a camera, immediately disconnect it without damaging it because the camera’s firmware may contain identifying information, such as login credentials and the Wi-Fi network it was connected to, Kinzie said.

Disconnect hidden cameras but don’t damage them, said Varonis security researcher Kody Kinzie.

Krisanapong Detraphiphat | Moment | Getty Images

O’Rourke said hidden cameras found in hotel rooms should be reported to the front desk. He advised then moving to another hotel instead of requesting another room.

“Once you find a camera in a room, I wouldn’t trust any other room in that entire hotel,” he said.

Bombace also recommended reporting hidden cameras to the police, even if it is just for documentation purposes, in case litigation or criminal charges should follow.

“You could also provide [the report] to Airbnb so they can prevent this person from ever doing this again,” he said.

But ultimately, Bombace said, he would not avoid renting a home over fears of spy cameras.

“I would just take common sense steps to protect yourself. And realize you’re not in your own home,” he said.

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World

Travelers can now go to Japan but domestic tourists remain its focus

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After more than two years of closed border policies, Japan is set to welcome back international travelers this week.

Come June 10, foreign tourists traveling via packaged tours can enter Japan.

However, the government’s priority still lies in boosting domestic tourism numbers, said Tadashi Shimura, president of Japan Association of Travel Agents.

Even before the pandemic, domestic tourism contributed far more to Japan’s overall gross domestic product than foreign tourism, according to JATA.

Tourism numbers

Overall tourism contributed 28 trillion yen ($211 billion) to Japan’s economy in 2019, with nearly 80% — or 22 trillion yen — coming from domestic tourists, according to a report by the Japan Tourism Agency.

Despite a rise in Covid cases in 2021, tourism spending from those living in Japan still managed to bring in 9.2 trillion yen that year, JTA said.

Nevertheless, boosting international arrivals to Japan is still vital, especially for the heavily hit hospitality, transportation and travel sectors, said Shimura.

Japan welcomed about 32 million foreign visitors in 2019 and had been on track to achieve its goal of 40 million in 2022, said Ejaz Ahmed, a research analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, during a webinar on June 1.

However, the pandemic caused arrival numbers to plummet rapidly, and there were only 250,000 foreign visitors in 2021, government data previously showed.

The loss of international travelers cost Japan “about 10 trillion yen over the past two years,” said Shimura, as spending from international students and long-term foreign residents brought in an average of 4.3 million yen per person per year, he said, citing a report by Nomura Research Institute.

Travel agencies in Japan are gearing up for the return of tourists with packaged tours to famous destinations across the country.

All Japan Tours has six tour packages, including the “Golden Route Japan Tour” which takes participants on an eight-day tour around Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto for $2,698.

What are the rules? 

The daily cap on the number of visitor arrivals — which includes Japanese nationals and returning foreign residents — doubled from 10,000 to 20,000 on June 1, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

Local reports indicate the government may increase the limit to 30,000 people in July.

Still, Shimura said, those limits are too low, as the country used to welcome “140,000 [visitors] per day.”

Countries are classified into three categories — blue, red and yellow — and travelers may be subjected to additional restrictions depending on where they are coming from, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. 

Travelers from 98 countries and regions — including the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore and China — fall under the “blue” category and are not required to test or quarantine on arrival or be vaccinated to enter.

Travelers from any of the 99 countries in the “yellow” category are also exempted from testing and quarantining upon arrival if they have had three doses of an accepted Covid-19 vaccination. The category includes countries such as India, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

Those coming from “red” countries, such as Fiji, Pakistan and Sierra Leone, must test on arrival and quarantine for a period of three to seven days.

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Health

Is it safe to travel if I’m vaccinated and recovered from Covid

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Millions of people are now vaccinated, boosted and newly recovered from Covid-19 infections caused by the omicron variant.

They have what some outside the medical community have labeled “super immunity.” And many are ready to see the world again.

Though the term carries an air of invincibility, medical experts disagree about the level and length of protection it confers.

CNBC Travel asked four leading medical authorities to weigh in.

‘You’re very well protected’

Risks of severe illness for vaccinated and recovered people are “low and … unlikely to get lower,” said Dale Fisher, group chief of medicine at Singapore’s National University Health System.

For these people, travel risks are now more about inconvenience than health, he said. Immunized travelers can still get sick during their trips, he said, or have their trips canceled upon testing positive for a pre-flight test.

For the vast majority of people, it’ll just be a very minor illness, if it’s symptomatic at all.

Prof. Dale Fisher

Professor/Senior Consultant, Infectious Disease, National University Hospital

Fisher said traveling isn’t the Covid risk that it once was, because of how prevalent the omicron variant is today, he said.

“There’s nothing magical about travel; you’re not more likely to get [Covid] because you travel unless you’re going from a very low endemic area to a very high endemic area,” he said. But “there’s not many low endemic areas left in the world.”

Some argue that vaccinations plus recovery provide more protection, Fisher said. However, he added, “you’re very well protected after two doses” of a vaccine, too.

“You’re at risk of getting Covid, wherever you go, for the rest of your life,” he said. “But really, for the vast majority of people, it’ll just be a very minor illness, if it’s symptomatic at all.”

‘This virus is very wily’

People shouldn’t let their guards down just yet, said Dr. Patrice Harris, former president of the American Medical Association and CEO of the at-home medical testing company eMed.

“We are seeing hospitalizations reduced, but listen, we are still seeing 2,400 deaths per day in this country,” she said during an interview with CNBC Travel last week. “We are not at the end of this pandemic yet.”

That doesn’t mean she discourages travel — Harris said she’s planning two trips to Europe this year. But she does recommend that people rely on “tried-and-true evidence-based practices,” such as vaccines, testing, masks, ventilation and social distancing.

Dr. Patrice Harris was the president of the American Medical Association from 2020 to 2021.

Source: eMed

Harris said people who are immunocompromised, or around others who are, should exercise more caution. Even though she’s vaccinated and boosted, she’s still careful for the sake of her 87-year-old father, she said.

“This virus is very wily, and at every turn of it has fooled us,” she said.

There is always the threat of another variant emerging, plus the risk of developing so-called “long Covid,” even after mild infections, she said.

“We sometimes think: ‘Oh, I’ll get Covid, I’m young, I’m healthy, I’m boosted, so I’ll get over it quickly,'” she said. “But … not everyone will.”  

‘You should travel’

People who are generally healthy, have had three doses of a vaccine and recovered from omicron should feel secure to travel, said Stefanos Kales, a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

“Unless you really have some serious condition or some serious concern, and you want to travel, absolutely you should travel,” he said. “You should feel quite comfortable because what else, you know, is going to protect you better?”

“Let’s face it … it just really looks like [Covid] is not going to go away ever completely,” he said. “We have other coronaviruses, some of them are cold viruses and … as bothersome as colds are we haven’t found the magic bullet for those or a vaccine. But in general, we live our lives despite them.”

Kales believes it is time to “move on” from the pandemic.

“I think it’s time to … treat this as if we would have treated the flu or a cold,” he said.  

Stay ‘humble’

Professor Cyrille Cohen, head of the immunotherapy laboratory at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, said it’s too early to say that vaccinated and recovered people are fully protected.

Like Harris, he’s concerned about the threat of new variants, he said.

He said until the situation stabilizes, “I do believe that we still need to feel humble and cautious.”

Travelers could be infected with a new variant — one that hasn’t been detected yet. “That’s how it started for a lot of people back in 2020,” he said.

We still need to feel humble and cautious.

Professor Cyrille Cohen

head of the immunotherapy, Bar-Ilan University

People with so-called “super immunity” may experience less severe disease, he said. “But it is so dependent on the type of variant” that may emerge.  

“It’s always a race … between your immune system and pathogens,” he said. “At the end of the day, you want to be person winning that race.”

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World

Australia, New Zealand, Bali, Malaysia, Philippines reopen for travel

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Another day — another border reopens.      

In the past two weeks, a slew of countries announced plans to reopen or relax border restrictions. This includes places that have maintained some of the strictest pandemic-related border controls in the world. 

The announcements come on the heels of a record-setting period of global infections. According to the World Health Organization, Covid-19 cases peaked worldwide in late January, with more than 4 million cases registered in a single day. 

However, many countries are signaling that they can’t economically afford — or are no longer willing — to stay closed.

The pervasiveness of the omicron variant, which started spreading in countries — both open and closed — late last year, caused people to question the utility of locked border policies.

In addition, more than half (54%) of the world’s population is now vaccinated, according to Our World in Data. Medical treatments can successfully thwart and treat severe infections. And, many experts are now “cautiously optimistic” — as top American medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has stated — that a new phase of the pandemic may be within reach.

Australia

Arguably the biggest announcement of the past week came Monday, when Australia declared plans to reopen to vaccinated travelers from Feb. 21.

The news signaled the end to “Fortress Australia,” a moniker applied to the country’s controversial closed border policy that locked out foreigners and citizens alike.

Visitors to Australia must be vaccinated, a requirement underscored by the country’s much discussed ouster of tennis player Novak Djokovic in January.

James D. Morgan | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

The economic toll of Australia’s insular border policy was highlighted in January, when soon after backpackers were granted permission to enter, Prime Minister Scott Morrison pledged to refund some $350 in visa fees to those who moved swiftly. As it turned out, the about-face toward “working holiday maker” visa holders was part of an effort to reduce severe labor shortages.

Darryl Newby, co-founder of the Melbourne-based travel company Welcome to Travel, said the pandemic “not only affected the travel sector but every single industry” in Australia.

Pressure mounted when Covid infections skyrocketed in December, leaving an open question as to the purpose of keeping vaccinated and tested travelers locked out.

“Negative sentiment,” which began showing up in market research, may have been another factor, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The article quoted Tourism Australia Managing Director Phillipa Harrison as saying the country went from being “envied” to “ridiculed” over its border policies, with some fearing lasting damage to Australia’s touristic appeal.

The state of Western Australia, home to Perth, is not reopening to either foreigners or Australian tourists yet. It scrapped plans to reopen amid a rise in Covid cases in January.

Percent of peak*: 38%

 *Reuters’ rolling 7-day daily case average compared with the country’s all-time highest infection rate.

New Zealand

Another so-called “fortress” announced plans to welcome back vaccinated international visitors.

Unlike Australia, New Zealand last week outlined a five-step phased reopening plan that won’t allow international travelers to enter until July, at the earliest. Vaccinated travelers must also self-isolate for 10 days upon arrival.

With some exceptions, the plan first welcomes citizens and residents to enter later this month, if they are traveling from Australia. Citizens and residents coming from other places, plus eligible workers, can enter in mid-March, followed by some visa holders and students in mid-April.

Vaccinated travelers from Australia and those from countries who don’t need visas — including people from Canada, the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Israel, Chile, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates — can enter from July. Others will be allowed to visit starting in October.

Percent of peak: At peak and rising

Philippines

After closing its borders in March of 2020, the Philippines announced plans to reopen today to vaccinated travelers from more than 150 countries and territories.  

The country suspended its color-coded country classification program in favor of opening to vaccinated travelers who test negative via a PCR test. Facility-based quarantines were also replaced with a requirement to self-monitor for seven days.

Travelers to the Philippines must have valid return tickets and travel insurance with medical coverage of at least $35,000.

Rouelle Umali | Xinhua News Agency | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

Covid cases in the Philippines peaked last month with more than 300,000 daily cases at one point. Cases dropped as quickly as they rose, with 3,543 confirmed cases in the past 24 hours as of Feb. 10, according to the WHO.

Despite the surge, the Philippines’ Department of Tourism indicated the decision to reopen was related to economic hardship and, possibly, to match the policies of other Southeast Asian countries.

“The Department sees this as a welcome development that will contribute significantly to job restoration … and in the reopening of businesses that have earlier shut down during the pandemic,” said Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat in an article on the department’s website. “We are confident that we will be able to keep pace with our ASEAN neighbors who have already made similar strides to reopen to foreign tourists.”

Percent of peak: 19% and falling

Bali 

Despite rising infections, Bali, Indonesia, opened to vaccinated international travelers last week.

“It is known that currently the positivity rate is already above the WHO standard of 5% … the number of people who are checked and tested on a daily basis has also increased significantly,” according to a news release published on Jan. 31 on the country’s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs office.

A woman meditates sitting in a bale in Bali, Indonesia.

Ted Levine | The Image Bank | Getty Images

Yet the decision to reopen to international travelers — which has been postponed in the past — was made to “re-invigorate Bali’s economy,” according to the website. 

Travelers face a five-day quarantine requirement, though they can isolate in one of 66 hotels, that include many of the island’s well-known luxurious resorts like The Mulia Resort and Villa and The St. Regis Bali Resort.

Bali, however, isn’t reopening to foreign tourists for the first time. It opened last October to travelers from 19 countries. Yet few people turned up due, in part, to a lack of international flights and the island’s stringent entrance requirements.   

Percent of peak (Indonesia): 68% and rising

Malaysia

Malaysia’s National Recovery Council on Tuesday recommended that the country reopen to international travelers as early as March 1, according to Reuters.

Travelers are not expected to have to quarantine on arrival, similar to tourism policies enacted by Thailand and Singapore.

Nearly 98% of Malaysia’s adult population is vaccinated, according to the country’s Ministry of Health, with more than two-thirds using vaccines produced by Pfizer or AstraZeneca, and one third on the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine.

Malaysia may be on its way towards an omicron-induced case peak. A steep uptick in daily cases began two weeks ago and has yet to decline.

Percent of peak: 41% and rising

Relaxing travel restrictions

Countries that are already open to international travelers are moving to further relax entrance requirements.

Though Europe is the regional leader in new Covid cases according to the WHO, countries such as Greece, France, Portugal, Sweden and Norway have announced plans to drop incoming test requirements for vaccinated travelers — though some apply only to E.U. residents.

Last week, the islands of Puerto Rico and Aruba enacted similar measures.

Other places are moving in the opposite direction. After shuttering bars and banning some incoming flights in late January, Hong Kong this week instituted new restrictions, including limiting public gatherings to two people. The restrictions are causing city-wide food shortages, inflated prices and a rising public anger, according to The Guardian.  

China also reinstituted strict measures ahead of the Winter Olympic Games, with lockdowns affecting some 20 million people in January, according to The Associated Press.   

Though both relaxed border restrictions, the Philippines and Bali also announced heightened local restrictions this year.

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Health

Harvard medical professor says it’s time to move on from pandemic

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It’s time to let the young, healthy and “anyone who wants to move on” from the pandemic do so, said Dr. Stefanos Kales, a professor at Harvard Medical School.

In a paper posted on LinkedIn last month, Kales said that for the majority of children and adults, “Covid-19 is not a serious threat, only a nuisance that impedes schooling, work and travel.”

“Once Omicron peaks, subsequent variants are likely to be even more mild,” he said. “We badly need to allow the general public, particularly the young, to get back to normal life.”

He said he favors focusing Covid-19 efforts on “the vulnerable” rather than the population as a whole.

“Many reasoned, outspoken and honest scientists have been making the point that Covid-19 is moving rapidly from a ‘pandemic’ … to an ‘endemic’ respiratory infection comparable to the common cold and flu,” he said.

In light of this, it’s “past due” to rethink some Covid protocols, he said.

Less testing and fewer restrictions

With the exception of older people, those with health problems and the unvaccinated, Kales said, for most people, Covid-19 is “much more of a logistical nightmare than a health threat.”

It’s therefore time to stop — or dramatically reduce — testing healthy people who show no Covid symptoms, he said, calling this strategy “doomed to failure.”

“As expressed by another physician I recently heard on the radio, it is like trying to stop a snowstorm by catching each and every snowflake, rather than keeping the roads open by plowing,” he said.

Widespread testing — for travel and work — makes it harder for sick and vulnerable people to get tested, said Kales.

“We would never screen well people for the cold or flu virus. Let’s stop testing healthy kids in schools and universities,” he said. “At this point, the teachers, faculty and staff have had the opportunity to be vaccinated and thus, their risk is minimal as well.”

Those with Covid-19 symptoms are a different matter, he said. Regardless of vaccination status, they need to be tested, diagnosed and given effective medications, he said, adding that sick people — “whether it’s Covid or a cold” — should stay home for five days.

The risk perception here is way off.

Dr. Stefanos Kales

Harvard Medical School

Kales said many current protocols are from medical professionals who focus exclusively on infectious diseases, rather than public health.

“Public health is a balance,” he said.

‘Overestimating’ danger of Covid

Kales said he’s a strong advocate for vaccinations, despite their inability to prevent infections caused by the omicron variant.

“The vaccines … they’re excellent,” he said. “They’ve saved many lives, and they’ve prevented many hospitalizations and much illness.”

Vaccinated people, however, are still fearful of being infected, said Kales.

Dr. Stefanos Kales cited the National Football League’s decision to stop testing asymptomatic players because “they were sidelining too many healthy” players. But, he said, he supports surveillance testing for those who work in nursing homes and with other immunocompromised people.

Jorge Lemus | NurPhoto | NurPhoto | Getty Images

He said vaccinated people are overestimating the danger that Covid poses to them. He recalled younger vaccinated people telling him they aren’t comfortable dining inside restaurants yet.  

“I just think that the risk perception here is way off,” he said.

Still, some say there may be reason to continue exercising caution. Dr. Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, posted on Twitter today that the notion that Covid “will evolve to a less virulent strain may exemplify wishful thinking.”

Not there yet

Kales’ opinions differ from many in the medical community, which as a group has been among the staunchest proponents of pandemic protocols.

One such person is Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, who said this week that the United States may be heading into a new phase of the pandemic. But, he cautioned, it isn’t there yet.

“I have said, and continue to say, that currently we are still at war with the virus,” he said Monday on “The Daily,” a podcast published by The New York Times. “We have 2,300 deaths a day, 156,000 hospitalizations, and we have the danger of new variants occurring.”

Though he’s “cautiously optimistic” about the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci said another variant could arise that eludes current immunity. “I hope that’s not the case,” he said. “I don’t think it will be, but we have to be prepared.”

Shawn Thew-Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Kales said he believes the number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 has been overestimated. He pointed to an “Incidental Covid-19 Report” published this week by the Massachusetts Department of Health, which showed 49.5% of the state’s Covid-19 patients were hospitalized due to “primary” Covid infections, while 50.5% patients tested positive after being hospitalized for other reasons.

In response, Kales said: “With all due respect, I do think it’s time to move on.”

Loosening travel curbs

Kales said he doesn’t believe testing and vaccination requirements for travel are effective public health measures. He said countries are moving away from these types of restrictions.

In the past week, Puerto Rico and Aruba announced they are dropping testing requirements for some vaccinated travelers.

Airlines and other travel industry groups on Wednesday asked the Biden administration to drop testing requirements for inbound vaccinated travelers to the United States. A letter to the White House that was seen by CNBC cited the pervasiveness of Covid-19 in the United States, increased immunity and vaccination rates, and the availability of new medical treatments.

Dr. Stefanos Kales said N95 and other high-grade medical masks work, but there is “essentially universal consensus that cloth masks don’t.”

Liudmila Chernetska | iStock | Getty Images

Professor Cyrille Cohen, head of the immunotherapy laboratory at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, agreed that vaccination-based travel restrictions are making “less and less sense.”

But, he said, since unvaccinated people are more at risk of severe disease, countries may want to keep measures that help prevent hospitalizations, particularly if their medical systems are strained.  

Cohen, who said he does not believe that Covid-19 is endemic yet, said he supports testing requirements for international travel “until the situation stabilizes.”

“We know that variants are still developing around the world,” he said. “We do believe that the omicron may help transitioning from [a] pandemic state to an endemic state. But until that happens, I think we should continue with testing before getting on the plane.”



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Business

Go big, spend big on bucket list trips

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‘New sense of urgency’ to hit the road

There’s a “new sense of urgency” to travel, said Stephanie Papaioannou, a vice president at the luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent. 

“Guests feel they have lost two years, and older clients are concerned about having fewer healthy years left to travel,” she said.

A couple pose in front of Machu Picchu, a destination in Peru that tops many travelers’ bucket lists.

Marina Herrmann | Moment | Getty Images

Lee Thompson, co-founder of the adventure travel company Flash Pack, agreed.

“People are desperate to get away,” he said. “They’ve been waiting to get back out there and are not shying away from those international destinations and big, once-in-a-lifetime adventures.”

The year of the ‘GOAT’

Expedia is calling 2022 the year of the GOAT, or the “greatest of all trips.”

In a survey of 12,000 travelers in 12 countries, the company found that 65% of respondents are planning to “go big” on their next trip, according to a company representative. As a result, it named the desire for exciting and extravagant trips “the biggest travel trend” of the year.

A survey of 12,000 travelers by Expedia found that Singapore residents were the least likely to have traveled during the pandemic (59%) and the most likely to want to splurge (43%) on their next trip.

Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty Images

Amadeus is seeing a jump in searches to “epic destinations,” according to a company report published in November. Searches to Tanzania (+36%), flights to Jordan’s Petra (+22%) and bookings to cities near Machu Picchu (nearly +50%) rose from 2020 to 2021, according to the report.

These trends are expected to grow this year, along with interest in islands in the Indian Ocean as well as Antarctica, according to the report.

The pandemic has changed the “mood of travelers,” said Decius Valmorbida, president of travel at Amadeus.

“We have people just say: “Look, what if another pandemic happens? What if I’m locked in again?'” he said. There’s “a psychological effect that now is the moment.”

Searches for stays in vacation homes abroad are now on pace with 2019 levels, according to HomeToGo’s travel trends report, released in late November.

The international destinations drawing the biggest search increases this year, compared with 2019, are Tuscany, Italy (+141%), the Bahamas (+129%), French Polynesia’s Bora Bora (+98%), the Maldives (+97%) and the south of France (+88%), according to the report.  

The top-searched international destinations for Americans for 2022 travel are Rome, Bali, London, Paris and Mexico’s Riviera Maya — which includes Playa del Carmen and Tulum — according to Expedia.

Emily Deltetto / EyeEm | EyeEm | Getty Images

Research shows that those aged 18 to 34 are driving the trend, and families are also getting in on the act, said Abercrombie & Kent’s Papaioannou.

“Families are choosing destinations they have always dreamt of, especially those centered around outdoor experiences like Nile River cruises, Machu Picchu, safaris and barge cruises in Europe,” she said.

Loosening purse strings

While financially devastating for some, the pandemic has allowed others — namely, professionals who have been able to work from home — to sock away more savings.

Some 70% of leisure travelers in major countries — such as the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Japan and Spain — plan to spend more on travel in 2022 than they have in the past five years, according to a November joint report by the World Travel & Tourism Council and travel website Trip.com.

Travelers are “more willing than ever before” to splurge on future travels, according to Expedia.

James O’Neil | The Image Bank | Getty Images

Globally, HomeToGo’s average booking expenditures increased by 54% last year, compared with 2019, according to company data. But average nightly rates haven’t gone up nearly that much — around 10% — for bookings this year compared with before the pandemic, said the company’s co-founder and CEO Patrick Andrae.

“Pent-up demand for travel led to travelers taking longer vacations, many opting to do so in a spacious vacation rental versus a hotel,” he said.

U.S. travelers are also seeking quieter, more luxurious destinations this summer — Maui over Honolulu, Nantucket over Cape Cod — despite the higher costs, according to HomeToGo’s data.

Travelers may be willing to pay more to go to certain places, rather than to make the trip itself more luxurious. Twice as many U.S. respondents indicated they were willing to spend more to see “bucket list” destinations (32%) rather than book luxury experiences (15%) or room or flight upgrades (16%), according to Expedia.

The willingness and ability to spend more are likely a good thing, since travel costs have increased in some places. The U.S. Travel Association’s December Travel Price Index, which measures travel costs in the United States, shows that prices have increased for food (+10%), hotels (+13.3%) and motor fuel (+26.6%), compared with 2019.

Airfare, however, was lower than 2019 levels (-17%), according to the index — but that may soon change, partly because of rising jet fuel costs.

Family reunions and ‘friendcations’

People are celebrating missed milestones, often with extended family, said Papaioannou. Abercrombie & Kent’s data shows a 26% increase in future bookings of five or more guests as compared with 2019, she said.

Family reunion-style vacations will be popular this year, agreed Mark Hoenig, co-founder of the digital travel company VIP Traveler.

People are expected to travel more with friends and family this year.

Hinterhaus Productions | DigitalVision | Getty Images

“People are still catching up for lost time with family,” he said. “Destinations that provide for large multi-generation families, such as those with a high inventory of large villas — including the Caribbean, Mexico and Maldives — are seeing an uptick in bookings.”

The U.K. saw an explosion of bookings by large groups once restrictions eased, according to Amadeus. Bookings to party spots, such as Las Vegas; Cancun, Mexico; and the Spanish island of Ibiza, led the company to name “friendcations” a top travel trend for 2022.

Renewed demand for travel agents

Big trips often require big plans, which is resulting in a renewed demand for travel agents, said Elizabeth Gordon, co-founder of the tour and safari operator Extraordinary Journeys.

Professional planners can help travelers navigate “Covid-19 tests, restrictions, changes in entry requirements, visas, flights, accommodation, activities and backup plans,” she said.

Even “DIY travelers,” who normally plan their own trips, are nowadays seeking professional help to make sure their upcoming travels are seamless, said VIP Traveler’s Hoenig.

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Business

Travel is ‘roaring back’ — That’s good and bad for travelers

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Last year wasn’t a stellar year for travelers.

Perhaps that’s why so many are pinning their hopes on 2022. 

Travel bookings and inquiries are surging, say travel insiders, in an upward trajectory that, if realized, may both benefit and challenge travelers in the coming year.  

‘People want to make up for lost time’

Travel in 2022 will be even busier than before the pandemic, said Brandon Berkson, the founder of the New York-based travel company Hotels Above Par.

“People want to make up for lost time,” he said, adding that potential customers have stated their desire to travel next year is greater than ever before.

Ben Drew, president of the TripAdvisor-owned travel company Viator, said in December that the demand for upcoming travel is “extraordinary.”

Beach and mountain destinations are popular, with bookings rising 1,665% to Tulum, Mexico (seen here) and nearly 700% to Denali National Park from 2019 to 2021, according to Viator.

M Swiet Productions | Moment | Getty Images

“Travel came roaring back,” he said. “Even in the face of omicron, travelers are booking more experiences than at this time in pre-pandemic 2019.”

Viator’s 2022 data shows bookings are also increasing from summer to fall, a time when travel typically slows down.

While acknowledging 2022 may “come with challenges,” Drew said he expects it to be “a chapter of resilience, resurgence and growth for the travel industry.”

Is the industry ready?

While news of a business boom is likely music to the beleaguered travel industry’s ears, it could be problematic if it happens too quickly, said Manoj Chacko, executive vice president of the business management company WNS.

“The speed and force of demand could catch some travel industry players off guard,” he said. “Airlines, for instance, could struggle to re-hire pilots. Moreover, pilots might need additional training and skill refresher programs.”

Airlines aren’t the only part of the travel sector that may struggle to hire staff this year.

Some 62 million travel-related jobs were lost in 2020, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. While many of these jobs are now returning — in October, the WTTC estimated the industry’s employment levels would rise 18% in 2022 — former employees aren’t rushing back to their old roles.

Burned by industrywide layoffs, some workers settled into other industries. Others are unwilling to take front-line positions in an era of rising customer anger and aggressive behavior.

Spain, Italy, France, the U.K., Portugal (seen here) and the U.S. are some of the countries facing staff shortages in the tourism industry, according to the WTTC.

Gonzalo Azumendi | Stone | Getty Images

One in 13 travel-related jobs in the United States is expected to remain unfilled, according to a WTTC staffing report published in December. In Portugal, the numbers rise to 1 in 9, according to the report.

“It’s hard to find cooks and enough servers to deal with the surge and the recovery of demand in the industry,” Jon Bortz, the CEO of the U.S.-based Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, told CNBC’s “The Exchange” last year.

To fill the gap, employees are working overtime and managers are “taking shifts,” he said.

For travelers, worker shortages can spell travel delays and a reduction in services, from fewer restaurant reservations to the elimination of daily housekeeping services.

“We were one of the first industries to be hit; we’ll be probably one of the last to recover completely,” said Bortz. “We would certainly ask customers to be patient.”

A push for tech

A dearth of workers underscores the industry’s shift, which started long before the pandemic, to using technology to perform certain jobs in the travel sphere.

Tasks such as delivering room service and cleaning airports can be done by robots, said Rachel Fu, chair of the University of Florida’s Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management department. Hotels can also use “concierge robots” to help customers make reservations, she said.

“Using AI wisely can significantly reduce labor costs without sacrificing the level of personalized services,” said Fu.

We will be seeing many more touchless elevators next year.

Nima Ziraknejad

NZ Technologies, founder and CEO

This may help businesses close some labor gaps, but innovations that directly affect travelers may be even more important as companies continue to battle for tourist dollars.

Some hotels let guests check in and out, book airport transfers and make spa appointment via apps, like the one by luxury brand Four Seasons.   

“Unlike many other hospitality apps, Four Seasons Chat is powered by real people on property,” said Ben Trodd, senior vice president of sales and hotel marketing at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

A technology called “HoverTap” makes elevators touch-free. Created by the tech company NZ Technologies, these elevators are in use in Canada, according to company representatives.

“We will be seeing many more touchless elevators next year,” said Nima Ziraknejad, the company’s founder and CEO.

Here’s how they work:

Elevators are just the beginning. The technology can be used on any high-touch surface, said Ziraknejad. The company plans to expand into self-service kiosks in airports, restaurants and hotels, as well as ATMs and airplane seatback entertainment systems, he said.

Soon companies that have these technological advancements will have an advantage over those that don’t, said WNS’ Chacko.

“In some countries, passengers are still expected to fill out paper forms and adhere to the norms of officials physically handling their passports and other travel documents,” he said. “Elsewhere, for instance, in Spain, most information … can be uploaded onto a single app.”

As customer expectations and the availability of touchless technologies increase, these advancements “will surely emerge as a key competitive differentiator,” he said.

Correction: HoverTap’s elevator technology is currently in use only in Canada. A previous version of the story misstated the countries where it’s used.

 

 

 

 

              

 

 

 

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