Gloria Guevara, chief executive of the World Travel & Tourism Council, praises efforts of industry
It’s often said that going the extra mile is an everyday habit for many of those who work in the travel and tourism sector – it’s what makes the difference between just going somewhere or genuinely travelling and exploring.
It’s this amazing daily quality and dedication which is shining through in these dark and difficult times.
We all know the travel and tourism sector has been hit especially hard by the coronavirus, bringing many companies to their knees. WTTC research has revealed up to 75 million travel and tourism sector jobs are at risk globally – with up to a million jobs immediately under threat in the UK alone.
Despite this terrible pall hanging over a sector which is buckling under the strain, we have seen millions of ordinary heroes around the world in the travel and tourism sector going the extra mile to help combat the global coronavirus pandemic.
In their tens of thousands, whether working in vast multinationals, in small start-ups or as single entrepreneurs, they have volunteered their time and expertise, with many putting their own lives on the line to provide essential help to their beleaguered communities through relief efforts.
We have seen furloughed airline cabin crew helping in hospitals or operating ‘mercy’ flights carrying essential medical cargo. We have seen luxury hotels opening their doors to provide free five-star rooms to exhausted and stressed healthcare workers. And we have seen cleaners, waiters and limousine drivers helping with grocery shopping and running errands for ‘at-risk’ groups self-isolating.
There are countless examples of travel and tourism sector workers going the extra mile to provide essential aid to their communities. They are all marked by extraordinary kindness and compassion from an industry known for its devotion to customer care and service.
For example, a number of UK airline cabin crew have provided essential NHS support in the UK to support a new St John Ambulance initiative to relieve pressure on health workers.
Many cabin crew have also used their people and customer relations skills to work at the new emergency Nightingale Hospital in London’s Docklands. Some grounded, highly skilled airline pilots have even swapped their aircraft flight decks to sit behind the wheel and drive ambulances or deliver much needed groceries to those most at risk.
Those working in the hotel sector have also risen to the challenge. Staff at a number of London’s luxury five-star hotels have opened their doors to offer accommodation and food for overworked doctors, nurses and other key staff working at nearby NHS hospitals in the capital.
Even the homeless are being helped, with top London hotels in the Intercontinental Hotels Group providing hundreds of rooms throughout the city to provide some of society’s most vulnerable people with much needed self-isolation and protection from Covid-19.
Meanwhile, in the US, hotel giants Hilton have teamed up with American Express, under their Rooms for Responders initiative, to offer free rooms to more than a million healthcare professionals across ten medical associations fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Volunteers working for the hotels have undertaken special health and safety training to look after their key worker guests.
In the US and Spain, Room Mate hotels have also offered to transform hotels in New York, Madrid and Barcelona into temporary hospitals.
Meanwhile Carnival, one of the world’s largest cruise operators, has offered a number of its ships to act as floating hospitals to treat patients suffering from less-critical, non-coronavirus related conditions.
We owe all of these millions of ordinary heroes an extraordinary debt of thanks. And we as an industry must recognise and pay tribute to our people throughout the global travel and tourism sector who have selflessly gone the extra mile to help their communities overcome and combat the Covid-19 pandemic threat.
I want to also thank WTTC members, large and small, for their dedication, and those of their selfless employees for going above and beyond to help. I extend my thanks to them all, including Accor, AIG Travel, Airbnb, All Nippon Airlines, Amadeus, American Express, China Tourism Group, Edwardian Hotels London, Emirates, Etihad, Expedia, Google, Hotelbeds, Hyatt Hotels, Iberia, Japan Airlines, JTB, Mandarin Oriental, Melia Hotels International, Norwegian Cruise Lines, NYC & Co, Radisson Hotel Group, Room Mate Hotels, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Silversea Cruises, The Oberoi Group, Travelport TripAdvisor, TUI, Uber and United Airlines among many others.
These companies, and many more have stepped up to meet the biggest global challenge in a generation and offer essential help and assistance to those on the front line fighting this terrible virus. Whether it’s tending to the sick, opening hotels for health workers or manning foodbanks. Like countless others, they have shown with their hearts and actions that we are stronger together and we will win this battle.