Covid-19 has messed up everyone's last year. Whether you were forced to return home from studying abroad like I was, or were forced to attend work/school from home, it is safe to say that plans have changed drastically.
Second only to the loss of life has been the destruction of numerous sectors of our world economy. Businesses that are seen as entertainment-based or non-essentially services have seen arguably the largest hit to their bottom lines over this past year. Restaurants, theaters, bars, clubs, theme parks, etc. have struggled to keep their businesses afloat as they have either been limited or completely restricted in the number of people they were allowed to have on site.
Despite this, there is one industry that is literally reliant on the government of their nation allowing people in and out of the country to survive: the tourism industry.
The International Tourism Industry:
According to Forbes, the international tourism industry brought in a whopping 8.9 trillion USD in 2019, an uninterrupted year. There was 1.46 billion tourist arrivals in airports over the course of that year and numerous nations are almost completely reliant on tourism to survive as a result of such impressive traffic. Take for example, Antigua and Barbados where 91% of all jobs in the country revolve around tourism. That figure is 84% in Aruba, 78% in St. Lucia and even 66% in Macau.
According to the Forbes report, Covid-19 cost that same industry 935 billion USD in the first 10 months of 2020... they wrote that number out to help conceptualize it: $935,000,000,000 or more than the GDP of 174 different countries.
A Case Study
Even if the country does not rely solely on tourism to support their economy, the hits have been massive. Let's look at France as an example of a country of that nature.
France lost an approximate 48 billion Euros in 2020 due to a lack of tourism. This was accompanied by a general decrease in international spending of approximately 82 percent. Not only did the threat of getting Covid-19 keep people from traveling, but also the regulations placed on them by their governments upon their return.
For example, according to the Schengen Visa website, the UK took France off of it's no-quarantine upon return list in the middle of 2020. Despite the fact that France is just a 31 mile ride away through the channel tunnel, anyone who went there was required by the UK government to stay put at home for two weeks following their return; something that deterred a lot of travel as nobody wants to be completely isolated from the world... that's quite literally a punishment in prisons.
Airline Companies SUCK
In my personal case, nothing kept me away from traveling quite like the airline companies. My girlfriend is from Greece, so numerous times during lockdown we sought a common ground to travel to legally to spend a week or so together. We found that we could travel to Ireland or Jamaica after a certain point and even decided to book a short stay in Dublin last summer.
We never did make it to Dublin due to a change in quarantining rules. We didn't mind, we both wanted to be safe, and at the time nobody really knew what the hell was going on. But we did then try to get refunded by our airlines.
Let me tell you. You don't know pain until you've spent two hours on hold with Air Canada only to be told that they would process your cash refund in 2 weeks... Then repeat the same process 2 weeks later... And again... And so on. Still nothing back after almost 10 months.
Airlines are disgraceful services and though I understand they were busy processing complaints and requests, there is no excuse to go 10 months without money I could be using for rent.
The Future Of Tourism
The future of tourism in my opinion will involve much more transparency, and one day involve trustless transacting to never have to deal with an airline representative again.
There will also be a more equitable rewards system and incentives to travel like never before.
Enter Travala:
I've done a little bit of background research on the Travala token (AVA). From what I can tell, this is the exact kind of innovation I have personally been looking for in the travel and tourism market.
When you want to get a refund, you request the cancellation and crypto is sent to your wallet within a DESIGNATED PERIOD OF TIME! No "maybe in two weeks" bulls*it, trustless and automated guarantees; a perfect solution to an incredibly nagging issue.
Now obviously, having cryptocurrency be an intermediary of payment won't open up nations from Covid, but what it will do is allow for more interest in traveling as it becomes easier and easier to book, pay and go.
The token offers crazy rewards and cashback on your bookings as well that aren't linked to some dumb credit card that gives you air miles. The BEP-2 token has smart rewards, cashback, discounts and loyalty bonuses simply by transacting in that token. It's like a free 5% here or there and instant transparency about where your money is going and how you can get it back if needed.
As travel begins to reopen, I wonder if we will see people begin getting frustrated with the ways of the past. I certainly am.
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