BUSINESS NEWS together virtually to address the Covid-19 crisis. Lee Hayhurst and Ian Taylor report
Del Rio tips cruise to be ‘world leader in safety protocols’
The cruise sector can “lead the world” in developing Covid-19 health and safety protocols, according to Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. He told the Resilience Council
summit: “The cruise industry is working on protocols from A to Z. “We believe the industry can be
a world leader. As soon as we are allowed to return and implement protocols to keep crew and guests safe, people will come back.” Del Rio insisted: “Strong cruise
companies will thrive and push forward, finding ways to improve the health and safety of our crew and guests that do not affect the experience.”
Frank Del Rio
Clive Jacobs, chairman of
Travel Weekly parent Jacobs Media Group, pointed out the sector is used to handling crises and “adept at adapting quickly”. “The industry is responsible
and wants to get back to normal as quickly as possible,” he said.
Six Senses believes local tourism is key to the restart of business
Travel and tourism will restart locally before people consider longer journeys and traveller confidence in the ability to return will be crucial to restoring international travel. Bryan Gabriel, chief commercial
officer at hotels and resorts group Six Senses, told the Resilience Council virtual summit: “Travel will start locally and regionally. “We look to China where
we’re doing incredibly well with staycations. “We launched a local hotel
package and saw it full for the [Labour Day] holidays in May. “In Vietnam, we put a package in
place for the May holiday and saw higher than 80% occupancy. Now we see that in June and July.
“Our resort in Portugal in the
Douro valley opens from June 1 and is seeing promising business, all local. It’s all about marketing to the local consumer.” Gabriel added: “It’s important
to reassure customers they can do what they want without penalty.” Scott Hume, Global Rescue
operations vice-president, told the summit: “The next stage of travel [after domestic] will be to more-common destinations.” But he said: “We can’t look at
just one part of the journey, there has to be a return. If people get sick, can we get them home?” Hume identified the key
requirements as “to depart safely, to be in a low-risk environment in destination and to get home”.
Portugal and Jordan set to reopen
Portugal is “open for business”, with the country’s beaches set to reopen on June 6, Rita Marques, secretary of state for tourism, told the Global Travel & Tourism Resilience Council summit. Marques said: “As soon as the
beaches are open we have the conditions to welcome anyone who wants to visit our country.” She said Portugal had worked
to adapt its tourism sector to new health and safety protocols, saying: “We needed to reset our activity to survive.” The country had enjoyed
an “extraordinary” January and February, she reported: “Then we hit this [Covid-19] wave. We expect an impact of around 50% this year, but we are optimistic about the possibility to rebound next year.”
travelweekly.co.uk Tourism businesses and
employees had been protected by furlough schemes, credit facilities and grants, and Portugal’s hotels never closed, she said. The reopening of beaches on June 6 would mark the final step in a phased resumption of the sector. Marques described a ‘Clean
and Safe’ accreditation scheme for accommodation as “a huge success”, saying: “It was launched on April 24 and 50% of tourism companies already have the stamp [of approval].” The summit heard that Jordan
has also begun to reopen and is looking to relax strict quarantine requirements on arrivals. Jordan’s minister of tourism and
antiquities, Majd Shweikeh, told the summit: “It has been a rough couple of months. We managed to control
the virus with strict measures. It was harsh on the economy. “We have started to reopen. The
public sector was back for the first day at about 30% capacity on May 26. Now we try to imagine the future.” Shweikeh stressed the importance
of certification, collaboration and credibility”, but she said: “The number-one worry for people is to be quarantined – a bigger worry than catching the virus. Our quarantine [for arrivals] is 17 days, which is too long.” Jordan is considering replacing
the quarantine restrictions by requesting travellers undergo a Covid-19 test “72 hours before flying and then another test within 24 hours of landing [in Jordan]”. She said: “Do they wait at the airport or self-isolate at a hotel? It’s not clear yet.”
4 JUNE 2020
Rita Marques 31
PICTURE: Steve Dunlop
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