An industry with heart: Poor in business for now but rich in generosity

The travel and tourism community, as I know it, is hardly greedy and selfish. We seek humour in tough situations and we reach out to lift one another, even if we are competitors in the business.

As Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc on the world and our lives, travel has become such a dirty word.

The act of travel now is regarded as an act of defiance and selfishness, never mind the purpose. How dare you not stay home!

The travel and tourism industry is greedy, for continuing to promote staycations, vacations, and encouraging customers to only postpone their trips instead of just refunding their hard-earned money.

So the public say, from behind the safety of their mobile devices and desktops.

For those not in the travel and tourism industry, it must be hard for them to imagine the struggles people employed within are facing.

World Travel and Tourism Council has estimated that one million travel and tourism jobs are being lost daily around the world. That’s one million people suddenly faced with no source of income for only God knows how long. Many of them may not even find another job soon enough because many other industries and businesses are struggling too.

Despite a painful present and an uncertain future, many travel and tourism companies have chosen to protect their staff by resisting retrenchment for as long as their resources last, with or without government handouts.

Many have also chosen to demonstrate selflessness and grace by volunteering time and resources to help their country and community in the battle against the pandemic.

Airlines have been helping to transport medical devices and supplies, and even healthcare workers, to places in need.

Hotels, resorts and convention centres have – and some ready to do so now – converted their facilities into isolation centres or temporary homes for frontline healthcare workers who are afraid to go home to their family.

The travel and tourism community, as I know it, is hardly greedy and selfish. We seek humour in tough situations and we reach out to lift one another, even if we are competitors in the business.

When Singapore had a shortage of masks and hand sanitisers early on in the outbreak, my friend Daniel Tan, who runs a culinary school for tourists in Singapore, delivered a fabric mask and sanitiser – both of which he made himself, catching me right before my trip to ITB Berlin. Just in case I needed them, he told me.

When cruises everywhere were hard hit by bad publicity around infections onboard, the Royal Carribean Cruises team in Singapore visited agents and media partners with little gifts of snacks and cheerful notes to lift the mood.

They didn’t have to, but they did.

These are stories that need to get out more in the mainstream media, to remind the world of the human side of the travel and tourism industry. And when the crisis is over, this industry is more than ready to get back to its job of helping people create beautiful memories as well as broaden their mind and heart to different cultures and environments.

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