COVID-19 Rapid Response Team to assist the global travel industry
rebuilding.travel is less than 3 weeks old, but may already be the most influential and diverse initiative in the world to counter COVID-19 within the global travel and tourism industry.
496 travel and tourism leaders from 106 countries registered in this grassroots initiative.
Members of the high-level task force include ministers of tourism, heads of tourism boards, leaders in the aviation and hospitality industry, academic and association leader. There is no charge for travel and tourism leaders to join 0n www.rebuilding.travel/register
The next weekly zoom meeting will hear from Tom Jenkins, CEO of the European Tour Operator Association (ETOA) and Raed Habbis from Saudi Arabia.
Rebuilding.travel recently launched its COVID-19 Rapid Response Team under the leadership of Dr. Peter Tarlow.
Tourism is a fast-paced industry and when crises or (negative) events occur, often the industry must scramble to keep natural or man-made challenges under control. Currently, Covid-19 has created the greatest challenge for the travel and tourism industry ever.
This was a crisis about which few if any were prepared. It is a perfect example of what academics call a “black swan” event It is for this reason that Tourism & More as part of SaferTourism and Rebuilding Tourism has developed a “Pandemic Rapid Response Team” (PRRT).
The rebuilding travel rapid response system is composed of a myriad of professionals from tourism security experts to public health personnel, from marketers to specialists in business recovery. The team will diagnose a particular situation and develop a strategic set of priorities that will allow part of the travel and tourism industry to get back on its feet.
- The PRRT can aid locales to deal with the evolving situation of health emergencies, public fear of travel, economic turndown, and an irregular stock market. Although Covid-19 is a worldwide phenomenon, its impact differs for each tourism destination.
- For example, destinations that are air or sea dependent will have different problems from destinations that can turn to a domestic market for the short term. Long haul markets such as Hawaii, or the Caribbean cannot depend on domestic travel., Other markets such as Korea, Europe, and the United States may be able to use domestic travel as a stop-gap measure.
More information on the Rapid Response Team go to www.rebuilding.travel/contact
