5 Ways The Pandemic Will Change The Future Of Tours

What will it be like next time you take a tour? The coronavirus pandemic has certainly upended almost every aspect of the travel industry, including air and ground transportation; hotels, resorts and rental accommodations; cruises; bars, restaurants and eateries; sightseeing and entertainment. 

Tour guides and the companies that employ them are among the tens of millions in the industry who were hit hard when travel came to a grinding halt. Many companies found creative ways to pivot, offering virtual tours and experiences to armchair travelers—which allowed them to remain connected to both their clients and employees. But analogous to restaurants not being able to survive on takeout orders alone, virtual travel isn’t a viable model for long-term sustainability of the tour industry. 

There will be a time when people will be eager to travel again and experience first-hand all the riches of different places, people and cultures. And whether they are walking through a market in Barcelona, visiting the Louvre Museum in Paris, or exploring small hillside towns in Italy, doing so with a knowledgeable tour guide enriches the experience. A guide knows the terrain, can bring alive the history of an attraction or destination, and can personalize experiences to address individual needs and interests.

“The biggest obstacle to those wishing to tour again will be regaining their confidence in the safety of tours,” says Chekitan Dev, a professor of marketing and an expert on hospitality branding at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

“We have been working hard on making modifications to existing tours and alternative experiences to make these clients as comfortable and safe as possible without losing the magic of the experience,” says Ansel Mullins, co-founder of Culinary Backstreets, a company that promotes culinary culture through publications and food tours.

Forbes.com spoke to several tour operators to find out about changes they are considering to protect the health and safety of tourists, and restore consumer confidence. Here is some of what they envision:

1 - Going private

As travelers emerge from self-isolation, many will want to travel within “social bubbles,” small groups of families or friends, rather than with total strangers. As a result, they’ll be more likely to seek out private tours than they did in the past. 

Basque Tours is a boutique, family-owned company that designs food, wine and sightseeing tours in northern Spain, predominantly around San Sebastian and the Rioja Wine Region. “From our inception, we have worked exclusively with private groups; operate our own Mercedes vans; and have established an exclusive network of farmers, cheesemakers, chefs, and winery owners who are as close and trusted as family,” says owner Jon Galdos. “Most of these properties aren’t even open to the general public.” He believes that by design, his company is well-positioned for the recovery.

Mullins of Culinary Backstreets is aiming to make all of the company’s tours—which never exceeded seven people before the pandemic—private, at no extra charge. 

2 - Emphasis on health and safety

“In today’s world, health and safety have taken on a new level of importance,” says Steve Born, chief marketing officer for the Globus family of brands, which includes Globus, Cosmos, Monograms and Avalon Waterways. The company’s On-Trip Assurance program outlines specific health and safety enhancements that will govern tours.

Almost every tour company is thinking about the measures they need to take to mitigate the effects of the virus and make guests feel safe and secure. This may include requiring virus-free health attestations, taking temperature checks, and requiring use of masks, gloves and goggles. 

“We’re currently in discussion with all our staff and guides to create a set of Covid-19 health and safety guidelines,” says Paul Melhus, the founder and CEO of ToursByLocals, an online platform connecting travelers with local, vetted, independent guides for private tours. The new guidelines will include such measures as sanitizing vehicles in-between tours, providing hand sanitizer, leaving the front seat empty to maintain social distance between guides and clients, and requiring masks while in vehicles and other enclosed spaces. The company also plans to discourage handshakes and hugs between guides and travelers.

3 - Focus on social distancing and low-density destinations

Travelers will always want to visit the iconic sites they’ve read about in books or seen on films, but Professor Dev predicts that in the short- and medium-term, they’re more likely to choose off-the-beaten-track, less densely-populated destinations. “We’ll see smaller tours, limited to open spaces (e.g., fewer museums and bazaars), all using audio equipment on account of social distancing, and to places, at first, where the incidence of infections are low,” he says..

Although some rely on vehicles to get from place to place, walking tours offer the advantage of largely being “al fresco.” On Foot Holidays specializes in self-guided, independent walking tours in unspoilt areas throughout Europe. “Our tours take place in the fresh air...over the hills, through the forests, by the sea, and in the vineyards,“ says Director Simon Scutt. 

Mullins of Culinary Backstreets foresees dining programs moving to outdoor venues. “In Lisbon, we will be offering private group picnics in stunning, natural locations close to the city.” he says. “For example, a lavishly set table under a shade tree with sweeping views of the Atlantic, set off of nearby hiking trails.”  

“We Basques are very used to physical distancing,” quips Galdos of Basque Tours. “There’s a joke that says: Basques would have to take a leap forward to achieve a Covid-safe social distance of two meters.”

4- Going local 

“When travel begins to reopen, post-Covid-19, many guests will want to travel close to home before they embark on international trips so we are planning to launch new local experiences,” says Steph Lawrence, co-founder of Traveling Spoon, a company that organizes market visits and in-home cooking experiences. 

“As restrictions begin to ease, people have told us that the safety of private cooking experiences in people’s homes is more appealing than the risks of eating in busier restaurants.” The company is also working with culinary hosts to ensure strict health and safety requirements.

5 - Greater flexibility

Museums and attractions around the world are lifting closures, changing hours of operation, and instituting new visitor policies and protections. As scientific findings about the virus continue to emerge (and change), regulatory agencies are modifying and updating health advisories, and slowly easing travel restrictions. 

This extremely fluid situation requires tour operators to be nimble and responsive to the changing context in which they operate. And with many clients still skittish about traveling, we’ll likely see more flexible cancellation and refund policies, too, not only among tour operators but also from other sectors of the travel industry.