Bruce Poon Tip, founder of G Adventures, urged travel agents to stay informed and be a source of accurate information for their clients
Speaking at the launch of his free e-book Unlearn, which outlines how the travel industry can emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic better than before, he advised travel professionals to keep up to date on government travel advice as well as the latest scientific research on coronavirus. He said this is important for customers to trust agents and see them as a "guiding light" during this often confusing time.
When asked about the destinations which G Adventures will be focusing on, he said that a lot of Asian destinations have handled the pandemic well, such as Vietnam and Bali, where an early lockdown was put in place. Destinations where "proper testing and tracing" has been put in place will be able to recover but Mr Poon Tip added that the situation in the US is "tragic".
"I don't want to get into the politics of it ... but this is what happens when there is a lack of leadership," he said, adding that because of the interconnected nature of the world, what happens in the US "affects us all".
In terms of the future of sustainability and the prevention of overtourism, he said that "overtourism has become a buzzword like 'organic'" but now there has been a "convergence" in the two aims of preventing overtourism and operating tours responsibly in the wake of the pandemic. Mr Poon Tip said people will get used to the "new normal" in the same way everyone adjusted to changes to airport security after 9/11.
"People have short memories ... We adapt and the people around us adapt and we care for each other," he said.
Image credit: Guido da Rozze/Flickr
