COVID Travel Industry - Feel Good Story
Written by Soraya Shattuck, ATCF Executive Director
April 24, 2020
Over the past several weeks, I have had many conversations with members to learn more about how they are navigating this new world. What I am finding out is that amid the uniform devastation of the travel industry amid COVID-19 there are glimmers of hope, stories with silver linings, and inspirational actions taken. I want to share one of those stories from the owner of a small three-person travel agency, whose business had essentially come to a halt.
But our conversation was not focused on this. We talked about the viral effect of the travel shutdown: the destinations who will not be seeing travelers for many months; the lodges and hotels that have had to close their doors; the tour guides who no longer have anyone to take on trips; the drivers who don’t have tourists to transport. The impact goes on and on.
But if negative things can have a viral effect, so can positive actions. He told me of a recent trip to India and that what made it memorable was not seeing the Taj Mahal or the Ganges River, but his driver.
“So many aspects of how he supported us, the stories he shared with us, how he took care of us, made it such a massive difference, that our trip would have never been what it was without him.” He went on. “In this time when I know how we are hurting here, I am also imagining him. He is not working. As one of the primary breadwinners for his extended family, they depend on his livelihood for their survival. So when I sit here and feel upset about the trips that have been cancelled, and the impact that has on our business, for me, it goes much further.”
And here is where the warm fuzzies come in.
He went on to explain that he recently contacted the driver to check on how he was doing. The result was as expected - out of a job and back home in his village trying to determine what happens next.
“I told him that I was planning to send him $100. It’s not much, but it's something that I know that I can do to support someone who made an impact on me. I know that $100 could never repay the memories he helped create for my family, but it is what I can do right now.”
A few days after the travel agent sent this money, he received a Whatsapp message of thanks from the driver. The driver also informed him of an additional $25 included in the amount sent.
“This was on purpose. I asked him to take the extra $25 and identify five people in his community who were needing it the most and give them each $5. Again, it is such a small amount, but if it can buy flour and lentils to help someone for even a small amount of time, then it is something. If I can help him, and he can help a few others, we need each other in these times.”
He then used an appropriate analogy for these times. “With COVID, the virus hits one person. And then it is spread to a few more. And then they spread it to even more people. And it’s the same thing that is happening in our industry. When one hotel has to close its doors because travelers can no longer visit, it does not only impact the hotel itself. It impacts its employees, the guides and suppliers, and many others. And as this amplifies. When fewer people are traveling, and more businesses cannot afford to stay open, the impacts are also spreading to them, and eventually the whole destination. Like the virus itself, these impacts will be felt by many. But…” he continued, “Like this virus, we can also spread good. With that $100 I sent the driver, it can hopefully support him for a little time. And with the $25 he will share with his community, he will be able to also help them for a small time as well.”
So as I sit here and reflect on this, I am filled with hope. Our community and industry are not only resilient, but are filled with love. Beyond the technical logistics of executing a trip, at the heart of all of our members, is a love to care for the natural resources of our destinations, and the people and communities who depend on them.