THE FASTER LANE / TYLER BRÛLÉ
How we’ll travel
In approximately three weeks you should hear the gentle thump of our June issue landing in your letterbox. Across more than 150 pages, we’ve spoken to or commissioned some of the brightest minds not only to chronicle this peculiar moment we’ve been living through but also to scour the past and look to the future for cues to paths forward. While I don’t want to spoil your read of what’s in the magazine, the following is a little hint of what we’re thinking about where tourism and travel in general might be heading.
As recently as four weeks ago, when most western countries moved into various states of lockdown, business owners and usually high-flying managers were quick to admit how easy it was to do business tethered to a headset and laptop. In a “Look Mom, no hands!” moment, there was much showmanship on the part of companies large and small as they scrambled to prove how nimble and well armed with tech they were, showily staying connected with far-flung clients and partners. With finance departments revising forecasts daily, news that flights and hotels might be a thing of the past (offices and desks too) has had CEOs dreaming of sunnier days with lower overheads and a virtual workforce toiling from sofas and kitchen tables across the globe. One month later and the millions working from home have a rather different view about doing business from an armchair while kids are swinging off the bookshelves, the spouse is on another conference call in the bedroom, the dog is barking or doing tinkles on the rug, a courier is buzzing at the door, the WiFi is patchy and there’s no lunch on the table. Make no mistake, they can’t wait not just to get back to the office but also to get out in the world again – in the car, on the train and in the air.
For the past six weeks I’ve been happily grounded in Zürich – I say happily because I go into the office almost daily, life feels somewhat normal and Swiss lockdown has been a much more civilised affair than that which my colleagues in London and elsewhere have been enduring. As I’ve adjusted to life in one place and had a bit more time to consider how the travel industry might unfold, here are a few thoughts.
1. The roadtrip makes a comeback
Just when it looked like that evil invention called the car had no future on modern travel itineraries it suddenly seems like the most modern, safe and hygienic way to holiday. We’re going to be forced to stay close to home for a while and the roadtrip is due for a comeback as we’ll feel more secure contained within an environment where we feel we have a greater level of control. Much easier to break for the border with your own four wheels than to be stuck in Peru (unless, of course, for you that is within driving distance).
2. Fewer LCCs
The low-cost carrier has never been a beloved feature of modern travel. For sure those cramped 737s were good for cheap long weekenders to Morocco but no one has ever been excited about boarding a Ryanair or Easyjet flight. We’ll reach the end of 2020 with fewer low-cost carriers and this is no bad thing.
3. Flag carriers make a comeback
This crisis offers an opportunity for flag and legacy carriers to reinvent themselves. Already thousands of stranded tourists have been happy to see aircraft with familiar tailfins (white crosses or edelweiss) showing up on remote tarmacs to bring them home. If many have fallen out of love with Swiss, Air France and Austrian, this is a chance for the carriers to play the home card and strengthen their position as not just essential services but also carriers to be proud of. At the same time, we’ll need a reality check in terms of what we’re prepared to pay to get to New York or Singapore for three days – or three weeks.
4. Cleaner transport
Rail, air and bus operators will have to invest more in keeping their vehicles clean. There will be no excuse for airplane or train windows with greasy hair smudges. Vigilant passengers won’t tolerate it.
5. Airbnb
The jury’s out on the sharing economy and whether the world will be rushing to stay in strangers’ apartments now that hygiene is top of the agenda. Much more to say on this in our June issue.
6. Eggs and baskets
Hopefully hotel groups, luxury brands, airlines and tourism authorities have learned a lesson about relying on one market to fill rooms, load up cable cars and sell watches. The Chinese tourist is not going to be venturing out into the world at speed so those in the travel industry need to be smart and court more markets.
7. No panda petting
Western tourists will not be rushing to see the Great Wall or cuddle pandas in Chengdu. On the business front, coronavirus screening procedures can currently take up to half a day at some airports – this cannot be a way forward for business travel.
8. The corporate retreat gets closer
The big corporate gathering that used to see hundreds of staff schlep to South Africa for a sales summit will get a rethink. There will still be a need to come together but it will be closer to home. This might be an opportunity for Swiss, Austrian, Italian and French alpine resorts to stay open year round and move out of their seasonal cycle of shutting down for short windows.
9. Sense of place takes a stand
The tourism industry has spent too much time trying to please everyone with every conceivable treatment, room type and menu. As budgets will be tight, perhaps this is a moment to stop having six types of saunas to appeal to customers who don’t like taking their clothes off in a semi-public, overheated environment.
10. Up all night
Cities that want to revitalise their gastro sectors and encourage domestic travel need to come good on opening up their night-time economies and start keeping terraces and bars open later. It’s time to throw open cities as soon as possible to make for a joyous summer. We’ve already amassed thousands of hours of “quiet credit”.
