New book on COVID-19 and its devastating impact on the travel sector

A timely new book authored by University of South Carolina Professor Simon Hudson is fresh off the press documenting the impact of COVID-19 on the travel industry. The book, called COVID-19 & Travel: Impacts, Responses and Outcomes, covers a number of important topics including why the pandemic and travel were inextricably linked, how the different sectors of the industry reacted to the crisis, leadership and communication strategies employed by the industry during the crisis, and the social, economic and environmental impacts of the pandemic as they relate to travel.

A dozen insightful case studies from all over the world bring the book to life. We see how the cruise industry suddenly went from being the golden child of the tourism sector to a sober symbol of the deadly disease; we witness the meltdown of ski resorts around the world in one weekend; and we see how Richard Branson coped with what he considers to be his greatest challenge yet. There are also some interesting ‘best practices’ case studies from New Zealand, Vietnam and Canada.

Hudson also makes predictions for the future of travel after COVID-19, a future driven by technology. We see how hotels are employing virus-killing robots to do the cleaning; how beaches are using drones to monitor social distancing; how airports have installed thermal cameras and disinfection tunnels; and how attractions are using apps to monitor social distancing. In short, the industry is having to adapt to survive – something Hudson has coined ‘COVID-aptability’. 

Finally, there are some fascinating bits of trivia sprinkled throughout the book. Did you know, for example, that the word ‘quarantine’ originated in Italy in the 14th century; that the Spanish flu did not start in Spain at all; that sales of bread machines went up 652% during the pandemic; and that when France advised citizens to stop the traditional bise (kiss) this year, they were not the first country to do this? King Henry VI banned kissing in England in the 15th century in an effort to stymie the spread of the bubonic plague.

The book is available from Goodfellow Publishers in paperback, hardback and for download, and if you would like to know more about the book, get a review copy, or would like to interview Simon, his email address is shudson@hrsm.sc.edu 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

COVID-aptability examples

Covid-aptability examples Finnair, Finland's national airline, sold ready-to-eat business class airplane food in supermarkets in order to keep kitchen staff employed during the pandemic and to cater to people's travel nostalgia. Thai Airways was very creative as it looked to raise cash during the travel downturn. They launched special flights that flew over 99 holy sites in Thailand, building on the "flights to nowhere" craze. The airline also found new sources of income in an airline-themed cafe, dough fritters and handbags made from life vests. Algarve Tourism launched a “Golf clubs are on us” program that offered free golf clubs to tempt European golfers to travel to southern Portugal during the pandemic. The Hotel Trio in Healdsburg, California (a Marriott hotel), employed Rosé, a "social distancing robot ambassador" to b ring guests pillows, towels and groceries. A restaurant in Amsterdam - Mediamatic ETEN - came up with the idea to allow people to enjo...
Read more

Five key insights from COVID-19 & Travel

Image
  1. First of all, the crisis has highlighted how the tourism and hospitality sector is particularly vulnerable to ‘uncontrollable’ events , and for some destinations or sectors that were over-dependent on tourism, the pandemic has been a wake-up call. Destinations are beginning to recognize the need for a more diversified economy in order to weather the ups and downs of tourism - Barbados for example is targeting long-stay digital nomads to replace tourists. 2. Second, what the crisis has also shown is that businesses in the travel sector must be willing to adapt and change their business models in order to survive . I call this ‘COVID-aptability’, and it will be a crucial management skill moving forward. Many organizations did pivot successfully during lockdown: restaurants focused on takeout and delivery for income; commercial airlines flew critical medical supplies and other cargo around the world; and hotels offered people a facility to self-isolate and prot...
Read more