THE travel and tourism industry is banking on “revenge travel” as more and more Filipinos are expected to travel once the Covid-19 situation stabilizes.
Cebu City-based tourism entrepreneur Stephanie Villahermosa, owner of Divaishnavi Travel and Tours, said that as the world is slowly opening up, Filipinos are now keen to travel again.
“Revenge travel is indeed what we are all looking forward to. We are hopeful for the fourth quarter of this year for some movement and to jumpstart travel plans for 2022 and beyond,” she said.
“Just like a baby learning how to walk, the world too is taking it slow in terms of international travel due to possible outbreaks again, but we are definitely walking,” she added.
Revenge travel is a phenomenon that refers to the desire of going on a vacation after an extended period of lockdown. Travel and tourism players believe that the “lockdown fatigue” could spark interest among travelers to pack their bags and head on to places they’ve put on hold to visit due to the pandemic.
Divaishnavi Travel and Tours caters to inbound tourism with an extensive array of services like hotel and resort accommodations, airport transfers, sightseeing tours and activities, team building activities, transportation rental, conference and meeting planner and incentive travel.
According to Villahermosa, following a stressful and socially distant year, travelers are seeking a breath of fresh air.
This means new sights with more open spaces and traveling in smaller groups and more inclusive tour programs which will include travel insurance will now be the new norm.
“Destinations, accommodations and sightseeing packages with strict Covid-19 hygiene protocols are here to stay and are preferred by most consumers. Flexibility of cancellation policies and contactless payments also top the list,” she said.
Online business coaching
Villahermosa is one of the 14 mentee-graduates who managed to finish the Department of Trade and Industry’s Kapatid Mentor Micro Entrepreneurs-Money Market Encounter (KMME-MME) Online program in Cebu.
“I joined KMME primarily to be productive while the pandemic is ongoing. It is difficult to be doing (business-to-business) at this time as international borders are closed and contracts with suppliers are valid only until the end of the year. They themselves are uncertain of their own situation,” Villahermosa said.
She said the training gave her fresh insights to sustain her business.
“However, with KMME, my learnings affirmed the best practices I am doing and opened my eyes to the stumbling blocks and future opportunities. It has also given me a chance to share what I know with my co-mentees,” she said.
Besides Villahermosa, 45 other tourism entrepreneurs completed the online business coaching in Central Visayas. (JOB)