Regardless of age, travelling, or any kind of movement, is necessary to keep a person in good health and a fresh state of mind.
While movement restrictions have been eased in most parts of the world, including Oman, international travel is still a no-go due to COVID-19.
International air traffic is down 92 per cent this year as travellers worry about catching COVID-19 and government travel bans and quarantine rules makes planning difficult.
“Airlines are selling tickets at throw-away prices because people are not confident enough to travel. Senior citizens have been advised not to move around if not necessary. Also, getting health insurance for senior citizens is difficult due to various conditions,” said a senior executive of an Indian airline in Muscat.
He added that the load factor on inbound flights to Oman is still not encouraging for airlines because new visas for tourists are not issued.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airport Council International (ACI), COVID-19 testing before departure is the preferred option as it will create a clean environment throughout the travel. Testing on arrival affects passenger confidence with the potential for quarantine at the destination in the event of a positive result.
People have reworked their preferences as they prefer to travel alone or with the family instead of group.
During the recent survey conducted by IATA, 67 per cent of respondents said “they’d still keep their travel group small, either travelling within their family or quarantine pod.”
“I take a vacation every two years and due to this pandemic, it will be over three years before I get to meet people back home. It is really very frustrating though my company has not sacked people or delayed our salaries. Governments should just allow travel with precautions like wearing masks all time and social distancing,” feels Rajesh Majumdar, an accounts manager.
Beyond the ability to talk to a person, travellers also listed flexibility and cleanliness standards as top priorities.
Systematic testing is vital to restoring the freedom of mobility across borders as it will give governments the confidence to open their borders without complicated risk models that see constant changes in the rules imposed on travel.
IATA does not see testing becoming a permanent fixture in the air travel experience, but it will likely be needed into the medium-term for air travel to re-establish itself.
With the global travel and industry in doldrums and millions of jobs already lost and several still at stake, the travel industry is calling for urgent measures to restore travel.
“The five-star hotel where I am employed has been closed since March this year. Most of the staff was asked to go on paid or unpaid and even sacked. I just hope that fear-free travel is back and we get our jobs,” said Murali Babu.
The global travel and tourism market is predicted to see a loss of 75.2 million jobs worldwide in 2020.
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