New travel habits to come, according to Observatur

In the near-term future of travel, new booking conditions will be imposed on reservations, which will be more flexible, and greater insurance protection and coverage will be sought. In addition, videoconferencing and the global health situation could delay the recovery of Business Travel. These are some of the conclusions of the latest Observatur report.

According to the study “Cómo será el nuevo viajero nacional en el nuevo escenario post Covid19”, prepared by the Observatorio Nacional del Turismo Emisor (Observatur), despite the disánimo that is warned in the ecosystem of tourism and travel, there is a widespread conviction that, with a minimum of guarantees, the españoles returnán to travel, because the culture of travel isá fully internalized among the citizen&aiacute;a.Its evolution will also depend a lot on the economic situation of the country and of the Spaniards, say the professionals. From now on, travelers will modify some of their behavioral patterns in their movements and they point out 10 major trends in the post-crisis scenario: 

1) Travelers, and the sector as a whole, will have to learn to live with the new social practices and new protocols derived from the health crisis.

2) In the new normality, the destinations with guarantees will be prioritized. It is important to carry out an exercise of transparency and communication to project the new reality.

3) Reservations are imposed with new conditions, more flexible and without cancellation fees. 

4) Travelers are looking for greater protection and the insurance will become more important.

5) In the first instance, the nationals will practice the tourism of proximity, in all its aspects, with the boom of non-massified experiences.

6) The last thing to recover, due to the doubts that still persist, will be long distance tourism. 

7) Special attention will have to be paid to the young people, who will probably be the first to resume travel.

8) The implementation registered by the online platforms of videoconferencing and the global health situation could delay the recovery of Business Travel.

9) There doubts about whether our country s, externally, is seen as a “safe destination”.

10) Therefore, it is more timely than ever to develop a new communication model, which highlights abroad all the good things that Spain offers as a country: good communications, security, climate, excellent health systems...

The group of experts also thinks that the situation caused by the health emergency has shown that our world is “vulnerable” and that the new context that has arisen must also serve to rethink the tourism model we want for our country and bet more on a more sustainable tourism.In addition, the role of the agencies has been strengthened with this crisis, “because they have stood up for themselves at all times”, putting in value the intermediation ón.

The reflection group that has allowed the elaboration of this document is composed by Joan Molas, president of the Tourism Board;Carlos Garrido, president of CEAV; José Luis Méndez, president of UNAV; Santiago Vallejo, general manager of Movelia and vice-president of the Tourism Board;Fernando Sánchez, general manager of Catai / Avoris; Manuel Panadero, director of Institutional Relations of Globalia/Air Europa; Alfredo Serrano, national director of CLIA in Spain; Javier Gándara, president of ALA; and Marcos Franco, of ReiniziaT and founding partner of Observatur.