Speaking on the devastating impact that COVID-19 has had on the travel and tourism industry, Rajiv Nangia, Chief Operating Officer, TRAC Representations India told BW HOTELIER that, "This is by far the biggest crises that Travel & Tourism has been subjected to and will bound to have a lasting impact on the sector as well as people working in the sector not only in India but across the globe."

TRAVEL AND tourism have been subjected to various crises in the past and it has always emerged stronger. However, Corona impact has to be viewed in a different light altogether. It has impacted all the aspects of travel & tourism from aviation to hospitality, travel agents to governments and museums/attractions to restaurants, there is not a single area connected with travel and tourism that has not been impacted nationally and internationally.

Speaking on the devastating impact that COVID-19 has had on the travel and tourism industry, Rajiv Nangia, Chief Operating Officer, TRAC Representations India told BW HOTELIER that, "This is by far the biggest crises that Travel & Tourism has been subjected to and will bound to have a lasting impact on the sector as well as people working in the sector not only in India but across the globe."

What has been the impact of the unprecedented COVID-19 led lockdown on your company and operations?

We are currently managing the impact of Covid – 19 by having migrated to “work from home”, fortunately, we had systems in place to easily migrate from office to remote functioning and our entire staff is functional from their respective homes. As an organisation, we have been constantly upgrading new technology and understand the power of it. As we all have been subjected to this new work culture, I may add that it has its own pros and cons, but we are managing well so far.

On a positive note, this situation has set wave for digital transformation for the entire sector organically. In a time when Social Distancing is very vital, it is essential to embrace digital tools to keep a semblance of normality.

According to you which all destinations will play a key role in the India Outbound tourism in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic? Why?

Where outbound tourism is concerned it will bounce back with unprecedented growth over a period of time, which can be short to medium to long term. However, it also depends upon how border restrictions are lifted, the aviation sector takes off and tourism gets started. This will also be applicable to inbound and domestic tourism. It all depends on how restrictions are lifted and human mobility is eased over a certain period.

Please remember humans will travel and nothing can stop them forever from travelling. The travel and tourism industry will restart at a slow pace post crises and will have to realign operations in accordance with the situation. All the segments and aspects of travel across the globe are currently affected.

What is in store for the Meetings and Leisure travel segment?

I feel both will take off but we have to wait and watch, as to what kind of restrictions are lifted at what point of time and what new precautions are put in place by various destinations and even within the country for travel. So, we need to wait at this point of time as we are still in the middle of crises with no specific time zone being defined at present to kick start the travel & tourism.

How is the Business Travel segment going to evolve post-COVID-19?

In immediate terms, most corporates are also functioning out of home and have been made to use various technology platforms. However, once we come back to office and consumptions, travel will also be part of the same consumption patterns. Initially, we can expect low demand and over the period the demand will grow and pricing will also start to get determined by demand and supply. Please keep a view that most supply and demand chains have been badly disrupted and we cannot expect come back to be 100%, it will accelerate over a period of time, which can be anything from 1 to 3 years.

Which segment of travel and tourism is going to recover first after the lockdown period? Why? 

Well, lot of people are of the feeling that domestic will be first of the block, but it all depends upon how skies and borders open up. If we have international borders open, we will also start international travel. However, we can embark upon essential and urgent travel followed leisure.

What are your suggestions for bringing the glory of the India Outbound tourism back?

Outbound from India will be back on its glory in shortest possible time, as people have this thought as to how long we can remain confined to any one place. Also, businesses today are spread across the globe and people would first like to put their businesses back in motion as soon as possible and I have no doubt that we need to have little patience for border restrictions to open up.

Disciplined approach and necessary precautions will play a pivotal role in taking the masses to the sky again. As much as we want tactile travel to resume soon, we sincerely hope virtual travel is ready to set the trend for people to dream today and travel later.

Any other message that you want to share with the Indian travel and tourism fraternity?

Travel trade while currently struggling with cancellations and almost zero revenues is also preparing itself for situations post Covid-19. There are campaigns by some destinations who wait to welcome back travellers and some feel this is a good time for training. But actually this is also time for the trade to introspect and make changes in what they would like to sell to overcome the losses of Covid-19 would have inflicted. I am sure trade has realised selling cheap and a price war is no more an options, at the same time your skill is your knowledge and connectivity, which can help people even in difficult times and is sensible to the situation currently we are in. So, let’s get going prepare new itineraries that you would like your clients to experience and earlier could not do the same due to paucity of time.

Remember Humans will not stop dreaming and will never stop travelling, it’s a matter of time before we are back to our business that we all love and call it Travel & Tourism.