The evolving nature of the pandemic forced many countries to reintroduce the travel restrictions more strictly like a mandatory test, quarantines all on the other hand weighs on the resumption of international travel. At the same time, the COVID-19 vaccine and its gradual rollout will help to restore customer confidence and easing travel restrictions contribute to slowly normalize travel during the year ahead.
To accommodate the current trends in the new normal and in order to gain the maximum output of our market efforts, we had to re-strategize our marketing activities in order to regain the traveller confidence during this unprecedented time. In this scenario, the detailed study of the consumers’ behaviour is very important.
Experts foresee the growing demand for open-air and nature-based tourism activities, with domestic tourism and ‘slow travel’ experiences is another area that gains increasing interest among travellers.
The Maldives is an excellent model which is one of the few countries open to international tourists during the Covid pandemic more than any other nationalities last year and now the wealthy Indians flocked the shores of the Maldives for vacations
There are strict Travel rules and restrictions in the Maldives. Without a negative COVID-19 passengers are not allowed to enter the country. In case they become positive while in the country, only after getting a negative RT PCR test result 72 hours before the flight they can board a flight. The Maldives has granted tourist visas for people of all nationalities on arrival that makes the Maldives more attractive for travellers . Visa on arrival makes the Maldives more tourist-friendly and saves them from the hassle of visa pre-approval procedures.
The clear blue waters and golden beaches and the almost virus-free environment are huge draws that make Maldives attractive to travellers. Bollywood stars have been spotted vacationing there during the months between December-April which the perfect weather days in the Maldives with a pleasant climate.
Even though all world regions are affected, Asia and the Pacific is the first region to suffer the impact of the pandemic and the one with the highest level of travel restrictions currently in place and recorded the largest decrease in arrivals in the year 2020.
Experts have opinionated that the return to pre-pandemic levels will happen before 2023. UNWTO’s extended scenarios for 2021-2024, predict a period of two-and-a-half to four years for international tourism to return to 2019 levels.
As the global tourism sector prepares for its recovery in the months ahead different types of challenges will also be faced. Once the impact of the worldwide rollout of vaccination programmes is felt and travel restrictions are eased more light will shed on the path of recovery.
A strong summer of travel is the ray of hope with a combination of mask-wearing, the global vaccination rollout, and testing on departure, and unlocking the door to international travel once more.