I recently read a BBC news article that suggested that Heathrow Airport (London) could provide Covid passenger testing for circa £150.00 per person!. 

For a family of 4 do these cost really stack up on top of your vacation cost, will that help unblock the depressed travel problem?

If ever there was an industry that shoots itself in the foot it's definitely the travel sector.

There are 3 main search terms on Google in relation to travel and Covid.

1. What test do I need?
2. Where do I get one?
3. How much are they?

Yet as a traveller you would be hard pushed to get these questions answered in a related way by the travel sector - why?

According to a report by Goldman Sachs, the prospects for the global travel retail industry are bright, as they expect to see a massive jump from today’s $89 billion to $149 billion by 2025.  

Usually, and following all those 'buy now' festive adverts we start to be bombarded by the travel industry to 'get that holiday booked' - but yet again the world and its potential vacationers are stuck in the same dilemma as last year - home or away?

Now I'm no travel expert, nor am I a hospitality expert but I do know quite a lot about retail, the commercial influences, and subsequent impact around changes in consumer behaviour.

You don't need me to tell you we are flying a lot less than we did, this in turn is obviously creating ongoing damage to all those businesses reliant on the global travel sector.

Pre-pandemic we all thought that simply getting through security was enough of a pain, but we sucked it up and built it into the mindset of our pre-flight preparation.

Today the thought of dealing with pre/post flight Covid testing gymnastics are continuing to sway travel decisions back towards a 'staycation' why?

Because it's less hassle, we have greater control over cost, and the travel sector don't really seem to want to help us other than booking the flight and holiday and then holding onto our cash if things go pear shaped - again!

There are also millions of folks who have been stuck at home (lockdowns & WFH) with surplus cash to spare who have elected to build their own personal 'wine bar' and put in a 'hot tub' as part of that garden upgrade they postponed for years, combine that with the surge in motorhomes and caravan sales then behavioural change has already happened.

These are activities and investments that's still allowing them the ability to continue to socialise with friends and family along with skipping going to the pub - something that will remain for some time to come methinks!

The human impact with ensuing job losses across the entire industry is greater than the misery of not going on that beach holiday or to the pub that's for sure.

The inevitable ripple effect associated with the travel industry is being felt at every part of the sector, including duty free, retail, and catering, including bars, restaurants, and the inevitable car park and rental income. 

Add into that mix the significant drop in flights and passengers electing for a 'staycation' it seems that each countries airline hubs are also in dire need of some kind of urgent fix.

“Second, due to how severe the COVID-19 pandemic is in the West today, inbound and outbound tourism will not be fully opened in 2022, so businesses that rely on inbound and outbound tourism, especially the airport duty-free commerce, cannot be fully restored. Based on the same reason, the duty-free shops in the cities that are particularly open to inbound and outbound passengers for scheduled shopping will not have far too many performance opportunities in 2022, regardless of whether the new policy is implemented or not.” source Jing Daily Jan 2022

To 'get things going' requires a holistic, scalable, affordable, and reliable solution that unblocks the biggest concern for governments and travellers alike which is;

  "How do we get people to move around in a safe manner for all whilst this virus can catch us out at any time?"

Mass testing is clearly the answer, but for mass testing to be of any use there is the need for;

• Easy, reliable, and cost effective access to 'at home' testing partners
• On site qualified expertise
• Approved (affordable) testing kits
• Related medical infrastructure
• ID and health status software
• and, approved hardware to carry out the test 

All this has to be provided at a rate that's affordable for all stakeholders and easy to implement urgently at scale.

Now I don't know about you but the above is nowhere near knitted into the travellers journey, either by airports, travel, or events companies alike.

To unblock the blockage requires the entire travel sector to think consumer first - something that any traveller will tell you is the weakest link in the whole travel chain.

In summary - stop making it hard for consumers to spend with you and utilise social media to learn, listen, and respond.