The post pandemic situation in business travel is seeing a rising demand of contactless situation across different sectors of India and worldwide. Airports, airlines, hotels and cars are taking every possible measures in order to keep their guests and customers safe. Innovations in daily operations, introduction of new technology, and other mandatory steps are the orders of the day to keep the worry levels low for their customers. Let's do a quick finding across travel sectors and check their methods.
Airports:
Most of the airports underwent massive transformation in operations. Contactless passenger processing was introduced in Indian airports and is now the primary norm across major airports. Temperature screening and round-the-clock sanitizations have become a mandatory measure. Other measures include natural ventilation and regular cleaning of vents. Digital procedures have also been extended to retail and F&B counters in airports, allowing passengers to browse, select, transact and pay through airport apps/website.
Airlines:
We already know that air travel is much safer than other modes of travel due to the various steps taken by airlines and top plane makers (Read the Report). Taking it further, airlines have implemented processes of online check-ins, scan and fly, self-baggage tagging / drop-off, biometric face recognition, e-boarding pass, on-board e-library, e-menu and self-boarding. Some international airlines have invested big time in automation and artificial intelligence. On top of that International Air Transport Association (IATA) is in the final phase of developing a Travel Pass, a digital health pass that will manage and verify the secure flow of testing and vaccine information among governments, airlines, laboratories and travelers, sources say.
Hotels:
Digital check-in & check-out is already a new normal in few of the reputed hotels where they have also introduced technologies such as e-newspapers or magazines for their visitors and guests. In addition to that, the hotels are making diligent efforts in putting in place exhaustive sanitization & hygiene protocols to make their guests feel safe & comfortable. Contactless payments and contact light dining are also offering additional convenience and confidence to the guests.
Cars:
Use of car rentals is now a necessity in the post pandemic times as purchasing personal cars is no more a wise option due to extensive budget cuts. People are also trying to avoid public transport due to the obvious threat it poses. With a rise in demand for the rented cars both for short and long routes, the car rental companies are fulfilling strict health and hygiene measures through proper sanitization and social distancing norms. Companies have gone to the extent of using best-in-class new-age technologies for implementing keyless entry which will allow the users to lock or unlock their rented car using the car app.
A global traveler study commissioned by travel technology firm Amadeus, was conducted among 6,000 travellers globally, of whom around 1,000 were from India. The study revealed that mobile applications that provide on-trip notifications and alerts are the most appealing technology for 56% of Indian travelers. Technology that reduces human contact, queues and physical touchpoints were the significant factors for getting Indian people travelling again (40%).
Hence it’s quite evident that there is an obvious demand for travel considering the fact that how effectively the adaptations are made. With a visible and convincing adaptation as it has already started taking place in all the travel sectors, no wonder people will be confident to commence their journeys yet again.
