The Tunnel has been Extended
In June, we saw light at the end of the travel restrictions tunnel – with New Zealand lifting their domestic travel ban, and many Australian states set to reopen during or just after the July school holidays. In July, the daylight hours were getting longer and the winter blues were starting to dissipate.
But now, frustratingly, we have been thrown back into restriction mode, with Victoria in level 4 lockdown until mid-September, NSW causing concern, and other States also worried. In turn, this prevents the international borders from re-opening. The knock-on effect impacts not just Australia, but also New Zealand, where domestic and trans-Tasman travel constitute the majority of both leisure and corporate travel. Together, we wait impatiently for travel to resume.
Until then, the travel industry remains on the sidelines waiting. Because travel is worth the wait. Travel represents freedom. Discovery. Joy. Unity. Humanity.
The Return of Travel is a Sure Bet
For these reasons and many more, the return of travel is a sure bet. Throughout this crisis, travel agencies have proven to be an invaluable safety net for corporate and leisure travel – going forward to travel internationally without the support of a travel advisor would be folly. So, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel has just been extended.
During this extension, progress continues to be made on the evolution of travel technology. For example, a few weeks ago, Tramada’s Global Director of Product & Engineering, Björn Böhme, represented the post-booking technology space on the global IATA think tank, NDC Implementation Forum. The Forum has been meeting quarterly since mid-2018 to align international best practices and workflows among industry implementers of NDC. This time it was held as a virtual forum. Björn presented our view of the post-booking workflow perspective to shed light on the challenges and successes, as part of this global collaboration to expand multi-source content management.
Get Ready for the New Normal
The new normal in travel will involve far more complexities than ever before – be they regulations, security measures, privacy controls, sustainability requirements, health conditions or other forms of duty of care. Whilst it is hard to be motivated to prepare for post-COVID, this is most certainly the time. And now you have an extension.
