RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a scenario of a pandemic that has lasted for months, there are several doubts regarding a return to normality. And this concern is even more acute when it comes to the tourism sector. After all, when will we travel again?
The insecurities that haunt travelers and tourists, even in a future rebound, are several: the virus returning, the destination’s tourist structure in a post-pandemic scenario, the exchange rate of foreign currencies – all of which complicate plans for a potential rebound in the sector’s operations.
The Viajala search engine conducted a survey of 3,000 users from six Latin American countries, including Brazil, to determine what the expectations of Latinos are for domestic and international travel later this year and in the post-Pandemic scenario.
Expectations and prospects
According to the survey, the future scenario of domestic travel is more uncertain for Argentines, Colombians, and Chileans. At least 40 percent of users from these countries said they had no idea when they would be able to travel within their own countries again.
On the other hand, Brazilians are the most secure in this respect: only 27 percent said they do not know when they will travel within Brazil again.
For the international travel scenario, travelers’ insecurity becomes even clearer. Users from Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia are the most concerned about international travel, with over 60 percent stating they do not know when they will travel abroad again.
The most disparate data is Brazilian: while only 26 percent are in doubt about their future domestic travels, 66 percent have no idea when they will travel abroad again.
“People are insecure, not only to travel: to actually leave home. So it’s very difficult for us to consider a significant rebound at this time when the numbers [of both infections and deaths] are growing every day,” Luísa Dalcin, Viajala’s communications director, explains in an interview with InfoMoney.
According to the search engine, 15 percent of Brazilian respondents said they are very concerned about how the tourist attractions will operate and another 15 percent said they fear a second wave of the novel coronavirus.
In Luísa’s opinion, domestic destinations are the “safety net” of those who want to travel this year, since there is no way to foresee how other countries will behave in relation to the opening of borders and how much the dollar will be costing at that time.
“Domestic travel is, theoretically, better guaranteed because they are shorter, cheaper and because, due to the scenario, they can be organized at shorter notice,” Luísa explains.
However, the director considers that even if the sector begins to gradually resume its operations in Brazil, this resumption will be very slow and regional.
“I believe that this resumption sketch will be regional, with each state or region starting at a different time, even in an uncoordinated way. Also because the spread of the disease is affecting regions and states in a completely different way,” she says.
Luísa also explains that the sector’s scenario for Brazil may be more uncertain than in other countries, and that companies operating in the country are likely to experience an even slower rebound in comparison.
“Some airlines are slowly restarting their flights, but here in Brazil, the situation is more complex because we don’t know the exact extent of the pandemic and we believe there is underreporting. Therefore, airlines here in Brazil should take a while to restart their operations”.
Concerns in the post-pandemic world
For Viajala users in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico, finances are the main concern when traveling abroad again, while Colombians and Peruvians are more apprehensive about their health. The Argentinians pointed to the conditions of the trip as their greatest concern.
Brazilians, Chileans, and Mexicans claimed that the financial situation itself is their main concern (34 percent, 37 percent, and 42 percent respectively).
In Chile and Mexico, concerns are also expressed regarding tourist attractions and services in destinations that may not be operating as usual (23 percent each), while in Brazil the concern is over the value of the dollar and other foreign currencies (17 percent).
In addition to travelers and tourists’ concerns, Luísa explains that the situation, albeit disastrous for the sector as a whole, tends to affect the more fragile aspects of operations, such as low-cost airlines and small travel and tourism agencies.
“We think about giant airlines an awful lot, but small companies in the sector, like smaller tourism agencies, are suffering this blow more harshly, since they are less structured to withstand such a crisis,” she says.
Luísa says this slow resumption of tourism could ultimately overwhelm other sectors that directly or indirectly rely on travel and tourists – such as hotels and sites that depend on tourism – and that a bankruptcy scenario for several companies that rely on the airline and travel industry would not come as a surprise.
“Companies will probably crash and cease operating, as it is not a normal crisis for the sector. It is an unprecedented crisis for our generation. Overnight, businesses stop operating because demand vanishes, people stop traveling”, explains the executive.
“The resumption tends to be slow, since it is the only possible scenario, given that typical tourism involves crowding, there are many people on buses, or at tourist sites, and this is out of the question at the moment. We’ll have to adjust to the new normal”, concludes Luísa.
Source: InfoMoney