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What health measures are needed to restore confidence among travelers?
Most of us are expecting tourism professionals to follow strict safety protocols, so say the results of a major survey carried out by Travelport.
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Travelers, some wearing a face mask or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walk through the terminal building at London Stansted Airport, northeast of London on August 20, 2020. (AFP/Adrian Dennis)
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earing masks, precautionary measures such as social distancing and meticulous cleaning... Several months after the outbreak of the outbreak of the pandemic, most people have a very clear idea of how they should behave to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
With regard to traveling, most of us are also expecting tourism professionals to follow strict safety protocols. So say the results of a major survey carried out by Travelport, a UK-based provider of distribution and payment systems for the travel industry.
What are the health and safety protocols that would convince you that it is now safe to travel? For the 5,000 people in the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Australia and New Zealand surveyed by Travelport, meticulous attention to the cleaning and disinfection of all potentially infected areas was the top-ranked criterion. The measure was cited by more than 70 percent of respondents as their priority requirement for flights, hotel rooms and rental cars.
Most of us have also become used to disinfecting our hands before entering stores. This was also reflected in the survey with a majority of respondents expecting sanitizer dispensers or disinfectant wipes to be made available in hotels (70 percent), in airports (69 percent) and on board planes (61 percent).
Read also: Public’s confidence in travel, outdoor activities increasing: Traveloka
At the same time, people also want reassurance that they will be able to stay well apart when checking in for flights or picking up their bags. Social distancing is now a norm expected by 68 percent of those intending to travel via an airport and 66 percent of those booking hotels.
More surprisingly, a majority of travelers would like to see temperature checks for air travel. In spite of the fact that this kind of measure could ruin many people's vacation plans, 66 percent want temperature controls at airport access points, and 70 percent would like them implemented for passengers who are just about to board planes.
Masks ranked only fifth on the list of measures that travelers want to see implemented, with just 64 percent of respondents insisting that they should be obligatory in airports and also in hotels.
To compile this data, Toluna Research surveyed 5,000 people in the United States, New Zealand, India, Australia and the United Kingdom in July 2020.
