What is the current state of travelling and what kind of role does the worldwide coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic play in it? Ever since the advent of the pandemic, individuals around the world have been staying at home for the health and safety of their communities and colleagues.
Digital tools have risen in popularity due to the need for both internal and external communications. Applications and platforms such as Zoom and Google Hangouts, for example, have been used for video conferencing purposes, business meetings, as well as a means to livestream and share content with others.
The transition to these tools have helped mitigate the requirement for travel and having meetings face-to-face with potential clients and other stakeholders. On the business side of travel, many companies have learned to adapt to the new normal.
However, according to PYMNTS, such attitudes about travel can change amid the holiday season. In an interview, Colin Smyth, the head of travel at Flywire, informed PYMNTS that while there have been digital enhancements in the year 2020, some activities that did feel quite right unless done in-person.
Smyth provided an example to highlight this point. “I think the holidays have really underlined how hard this is,” he told PYMNTS.
Smyth added that for Thanksgiving, his family stayed at home while they used Zoom to connect with relatives. “That just doesn’t feel normal,” he said. “And coming out of it, we’ve already talked about what we are doing in the new year: ‘Where are we going to go? How can we all connect again?’”
To him, such a sentiment was similar to that of other families around the world. He said that the travel industry was significantly affected by the pandemic and grounded the wish to see the world. However, that also meant that travel now faced “the greatest pent-up demand on the planet.”
However, such a demand would eventually be let loose, according to Smyth. He noted how the potential of a vaccine for COVID-19 helped pave the way for interest in travel. In terms of the resumption of travel, he said that would depend on the sector after the pandemic.
As the industries around the world continue to be affected by the unprecedented situation, so have the businesses within them. Companies that are able to adapt to shifting consumer behaviours while improving their services can overcome the greatest of challenges.
Merchant Broker is here to help business leaders reach their goals through a plethora of payment processing rates and solutions. This is in addition to communicating with stakeholders in order to meet budgets and revenue targets through the use of innovative technology amid the pandemic.
To receive more information, contact a Merchant Broker expert at either 1-888-668-0733 or info[at]merchantbroker.com.