Half of the companies that offer day tours and other
in-destination activities will be open by the end of June, with the vast
majority implementing health and safety
protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19, according to an Arival survey.
The report shows 50% will reopen by June 30, 16% will
restart operations in July, 9% will open in August and September while 17% are
unsure when operations will resume.
Of those, 90% said they are implementing a “range of health
and safety steps to make guests feel confident to venture out and experience,
including physical distancing procedures, capacity limits, mask-wearing
policies and increased hygiene and sanitation measures,” Arival said.
Arival said that day tours and activities companies comprise
the travel industry’s third largest sector.
“The vast majority of tour and activity operators are small
businesses and entrepreneurs that have been severely, negatively impacted by
the pandemic and ensuing travel lockdown,” Arival CEO Douglas Quinby said. “Yet
nearly all are taking on added costs to implement new safety measures for their
staff and guests.”
The survey, which is based on Arival’s ongoing “Coronovirus
Pulse” survey of 1,450 operators around the world, shows that 74% of the
companies plan to implement physical distancing procedures, 71% will operate at
reduced capacity, 64% will require all staff to wear masks and 61% are
enhancing and increasing the frequency of their sanitation procedures.
Quinby will present the full results from Arival’s Reopening
Survey at Arival’s upcoming virtual summit: Walking the Tightrope Between Safe
& Amazing, on June 25.