Following news that cruise operator Royal Caribbean has urged its trade partners to be ready for a bounce back once the coronavirus (COVID-19) travel restrictions are lifted;

Ben Cordwell, Travel & Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view on the situation:

“There is no doubt that COVID-19 has brought an unprecedented decline in business for the tourism industry. However, companies continue to make the best of a bad situation.

“With much of the world under lockdown demand for vacations will be high once restrictions are lifted and the public feel safe to travel once again. Tourism businesses should therefore continue to be proactive and prepared for a sharp increase in holidaymakers post COVID-19.

“Royal Caribbean subsidiary, Celebrity Cruises, serves as a perfect example of this proactive approach by continuing to communicate closely with travel intermediaries through a new chat function it has developed. This enables its sales teams to deliver timely news about the company’s activities to key stakeholders and it will be the first to know when Celebrity Cruises are up and running again.

“Inevitably, most company resources will be deployed into helping them survive these turbulent times, however travel companies need to keep an eye on the future, remain optimistic and be ready when restrictions are lifted and demand for holidays returns.”