Travel companies have been sorely hit by the coronavirus that barely a few have survived these months and months of movement drought. Fortunately, those in the tourism sector are slowly seeing the light of day, with many countries forced to open borders for fear of economic instability. Plus, more and more countries and foreign companies are now racing to develop a vaccine for the deadly virus.
If you’re one of those travel firms that are still holding on for dear life, you might want to check out these 6 innovative ways you can deal with the pandemic.
1. Offer domestic travel planning for the family.
Despite the months of restlessness due to restricted movement, some countries prefer to keep their tourists to themselves. Many have opted to go on domestic vacations to check out local spots to improve their own tourism and contain the spread of COVID-19 that could come in from other countries. You can capitalize on this. Check out which local attractions are safe and open during this time and make an itinerary for families who want to take a break from the hustle and bustle even at home.
2. Offer educational travel planning.
Some schools might have closed down due to fears of corona and lack of enrollees, but others have trudged on to continue the learning of their students despite the pandemic. Now, schooling might have shifted towards online learning, but that doesn’t mean field trips can’t happen! This is where you can come along.
Talk to schools to figure out how you can help take students out for a while on a safe and secure road trip. This can be possible by chartering a bus big enough to practice physical distancing and bring children to safe areas where they can learn.
3. Partner with local governments to boost tourism in an area.
As stated above, even governments are scrambling to get tourists into their area because it generates revenue for their people. You can talk to your local government or the state government to possibly partner for some tourism projects they might have now. Combining your network and their connections will ensure that the project will be a success.
4. Offer ‘staycations’.
Many accommodations are now offering staycations to tourists for a considerable rate. As a travel agency, you can also take advantage of this by talking to other tourist spots that haven’t applied this workaround. You can enter into a deal with such places to provide the marketing of guests while they can of course keep accepting new clients.
At this point in time, staycations no longer just mean checking into a hotel and staying cooped up for the rest of your paid time in. Now, people are customizing the way they do staycations, just like this zoo that offered a wildlife retreat to interested families who wanted to escape the city for at least a little while.
5. Start a travel blog.
Blogging is a great way of earning extra income and staying within the radar of your frequent clients. You don’t need to force them to travel while this health crisis is going on but you can keep them hooked by posting unique content that can both entertain and inform them about current travel protocols.
If you already have a network of clients that can be converted into site traffic, then this option might be good for you. Just look for a good SEO expert and site developers to maintain your blog.
You can also increase your audience in the blog by going on social media and allowing organic posts to do the publicity for you.
6. Host virtual travel events
Aside from starting a travel blog, you can host virtual travel events that would allow your clients to still travel while staying at home. By hiring an audio-video team that would go to the places that can’t really be crowded at this point, you can allow your clients to still experience the wonders of a safari, the breathtaking view atop a mountain, or even just the excitement of seeing underwater creatures at the comforts of their own homes.
During these uncertain times, we are forced to think outside of the box to ensure that our businesses and our way of life can survive. But before we get too concerned about our livelihood, we should first secure our safety and prioritize our lives above all else. We must accept that traveling can come later, ensuring our health must come first.
