INTERNATIONAL. Plaza Premium Group has invited industry partners to “brainstorm” the future of travel beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and plot the way forward for the airport hospitality sector.
Adopting the slogan ‘Together, we make travel better’, it has taken the lead by publishing six guiding principles, to provide travel industry stakeholders with a starting point for discussions.
The six principles are as follows:
- Hygienic measures including social distancing will be taken to new heights as the wellbeing of people – consumers, partners and employees – is paramount.
- Pent-up desire to travel will be unleashed but behaviourial shift is inevitable with changing perspectives in travel planning and new “values”.
- Managing a healthy cash flow is the key to unlocking the future as cost efficiency can potentially mean converting cost centres into profit drivers.
- Digitalisation was once a trend but it is vital now with an additional perspective of contactless processes and transactions for better hygiene.
- Sustainability will be among the top factors in the business decision matrix to ensure the wellbeing of Planet Earth.
- Business will undergo re-modelling or re-engineering to meet the new world of travel.
Plaza Premium Group Founder and Chief Executive Officer Song Hoi-see said: “As soon as the situation is stabilised, travel will come back but gradually and in phases, led by domestic travelling, essential business trips and Asia, specifically Mainland China.”
He added: “The global pandemic will change the ways airports and airlines operate, and influence travellers’ behaviours. Of all the tasks we are prioritising, forward-thinking discussions top our agenda. Data and information is fundamental upon which we must derive solutions and trends to lead and develop the next level of airport hospitality.”
Plaza Premium Group’s airport lounges now cover more than 170 facilities across 46 international airports. It has close links with airlines, managing and operating lounges on behalf of the likes of Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines. The company’s other businesses interests include Aerotel, a chain of in-terminal airport hotels.
The company has invited partners to join the conversation on the future of airport hospitality and share thoughts through a five-minute survey, which can be completed here. The results will be analysed to create insights which are to be shared in mid-June.
To read the full report which sets the scene and details the six principles outlined, please click here.
