Just recently made available is “Reopening Guidance: Considerations for the Global Attractions Industry,” a fairly comprehensive, 36-page document produced by the Orlando-based International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, which is “intended to provide information to those in the industry and other interested parties and to assist in operating attractions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic”

Focusing primarily on the needs of attractions sector, IAAPA says that “not all of these considerations will apply to your operation or facility type; however, the information outlined is intended to help you develop or review the plan that will work best for your attraction,” and cautions readers that the guide is “not intended and is not designed to serve as an industry best practice and should not in any manner be considered a best practice for the attractions industry.”

Still, it is a valuable document that those for the travel and tourism industry, of which the attractions sector is a part, and it is worth reviewing. Here, INBOUND shares the document’s introductory summary.

Summary of Topline Considerations for Reopening

These considerations regard operational adjustments for facilities to consider before reopening prior to the development of a treatment or widely accessible vaccine for COVID-19. They will be adjusted and simplified as time goes on, conditions improve, and new best practices are identified. 

These considerations are designed to be a rough outline, subject to discussion and adjustment as needed with input from the local government agencies and health authorities where the attraction operates. If government guidance is more stringent than this document, you should follow government guidance. You may want to share this document with government officials to assist them in developing their guidelines for unique attractions. 

Topline Considerations for Reopening

1. Allow healthy people to enjoy the facility and encourage the use of masks/face coverings for guests and staff.

2. Provide means to wash/sanitize hands frequently.

3. Manage density of people within the facility to keep people or family units that have been isolating together 6 feet (2 meters) apart. Physical distancing guidelines may vary by region and can be reduced by wearing of masks/ face coverings—ensure your plan is aligned with local official guidance.

4. Reduce touch areas where possible and sanitize high touch surfaces frequently.

5. Protect employees with various approaches, including barriers, protective coverings, and distancing.

6. Communicate with employees and guests effectively on how to prevent the spread of germs.

7. Have a plan in the event a guest or employee falls ill on site.

For the complete report, click here.

Notwithstanding lockdowns in many countries because of the COVID-19-driven global pandemic, many travelers would like to take a trip this summer, and they are willing to share their personal medical history and travel plans in order to help keep themselves and those around them safe.

So says the results of a survey conducted by New Hampshire-based Global Rescue, which provides medical, security, intelligence, and crisis response services on a global scale—it has offices and operations centers throughout the world. It recently conducted a survey of its members and also found that many would be willing to take measures that they would not necessarily have been prepared to take previously, in order to restart travel.

“Many travelers are planning to hit the road again this summer and they are willing to share personal medical history and travel plans to help keep themselves and those around them safe,” Global Rescue CEO Dan Richards said in a statement announcing the survey results.

Based on 1,300 responses collected from its members on April 23-24, including government agencies, corporates, universities, nonprofits and tour operators, the company’s survey found that, for starters, 77 per cent are expecting to make a trip by the end of October, while 41 per cent expect to make their next trip by July or earlier and 36 per cent are planning their initial trip sometime between August and October. Other survey findings include the following:

—91 percent of those surveyed are willing to subject themselves to screening and testing.
—73 percent are willing to disclose medical conditions related to a compromised immune system.
—93 percent are willing to share their past 14-day travel history.
—58 percent are willing to have their physical location tracked and traced with data temporarily retained.

—77 percent are expecting to make a trip by the end of October
—41 percent expect to make their next trip by July or earlier
—36 percent are planning their initial trip sometime between August and October
—Less than 9 percent believe their earliest post-pandemic trip will be during the holiday months of November and December

—Fewer than 7 percent expect to make their first trip sometime between January and March 2021
—7 percent predict their next trip won’t be until sometime after April 2021.
—Asked for the reason for their first trip, domestic trips were favored by a two-to one margin.
—75 percent of initial trips are expected to be family holidays, leisure trips to visit friends, or destination getaways.
—less than 10% expect their first trips to be for business only.
—15 percent say their initial travel plans will be for both business and pleasure.

—Queried about trips booked during the global travel restrictions, more than 42 percent reported they were forced to cancel their travel plans, 16 percent said they voluntarily abandoned trips and 27 percent postponed their trips.
—Nearly 60 percent of those who canceled or postponed travel expect to book another trip as soon as they feel safe.
—13 percent report they will reserve another trip to take advantage of travel discounts and deals.
—Fewer than 1.5 percent plan to spend their money on other things unrelated to travel.