Tourist group photos a no-no in future travel
Travelling in future will take a new turn that would even discourage taking a group photograph, while wearing basic protective gear will be imperative in meeting the locals, and guides will have to speak from behind a screen when on tour.
Sri Lanka’s Destination Management Companies (DMCs) have been issued a strict code of guidelines to be followed in future when travel resumes and visitors come back to the country, the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) stated.
Increased use of hand sanitizers and gloves and often disinfecting the vehicles tourists travel in will be part of the routine of ensuring a healthy and hygienic mode of travel.
Tourists are to be greeted with the traditional “Ayubowan” in a bid to avoid physical contacts and ensure that social distancing measures are adopted even while travelling in the vehicles by clearly marking the places that guests can sit, the guidelines stated.
While visiting plantations like tea or spice gardens or meeting rural communities, visitors are advised to wear basic protective wear, SLAITO stated.
In addition, travel firms will be discouraging visitors from attending sizable gatherings such as festivals or sports events until it is deemed safe to do so.
Vehicles used for transporting tourists while on tour or picking up at the airport and even safari jeeps need to have a stock of gloves and hand sanitizers at all times and the health guidelines need to be clearly displayed to inform the guest of the regulations that need to be followed, SLAITO noted.
The vehicles are to be sanitized from time to time during the tour, and even after completing the tour and before taking on a new tour group onboard as well.
SLAITO has also recommended the issuance of tickets on a single website in a bid to obtain them prior to leaving for the excursion through a centralized ticketing system; and have an onsite automated process to validate the tickets.
Moreover, they recommend that only a limited number of persons should be allowed permission to have an excursion per day and tickets to be purchased on a first-come first-served basis.
The association has also announced a series of measures that guides and drivers should adopt in the chauffeuring of tourists around the country by carrying a sufficient stock of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the entire tour; constant checks for COVID-19 and a regular health check certificate along with their Guide License.