Many of us have been wondering if the ski resorts will open and in which parts of the world. Well, at least in Spain, more and more stations are opening their facilities with unified Covid protocols and this has been agreed by the main ATUDEM and ACEM associations. It is currently the country with the most stations open to date with up to 18 stations open to the public and the distancing measures, masks, covered hands etc … are already quite intrinsic to the activity of the sport itself. It is added that capacity limits of up to 50% are established to avoid crowds.

The result is that tourist accommodations have opened their arms and see a ray of light for their businesses with occupancies of up to 70% in many destinations. However, our neighbor France has not yet dared to take the step despite having controlled the number of cases in recent days.

That’s what Ryanair’s “big boss”, Michael O’Leary, has said, predicting this week at the World Travel Market, a strong return in passenger air traffic for next summer 2021. With an effective distribution of the vaccine, predicts a “beach invasion” across Europe and a return of up to 80% of pre-COVID short-distance traffic.

In contrast to the majority of executives from other airlines, and aviation organizations, they have been announcing a long and terrible period of recovery from the devastating effects of COVID in the travel sector, predicting up to about 5 years to match the demand for travel that we had prior to the arrival of Covid in early 2020.

This is how Ticketmaster is crafting their plan to ensure a safe return to attend all 2021 events where they will sell tickets.

After buying a ticket, they will ask us to show that we have been vaccinated or that we have taken a Covid test 24-72h before the start of the event.

The duration of coverage that a test would provide would be governed by the regional health authorities; If those attending a Friday night concert had to be tested 48 hours in advance, most could begin the testing process the day before the event.

The biggest giant in the entertainment world plans to start selling tickets and making cash from the beginning of 2021. This is how they do their calculations, and we want to imagine that they are well informed. And it is that they count on that the events will take place from the beginning of the summer. Once again all the news revolves around an ever closer recovery in the sector.

Earlier this month, TicketMaster (Live Nation) also laid out their first plans for fans to be able to return to concerts safely. It is believed that a testing system could be an integral part of the future of festivals - with attendees providing a negative Covid-19 test result to gain entry.

Today, November 10th, the world has dawned with the vision that we are closer to seeing light at the end of the tunnel and the tourism sector has responded with a historic rise in stock markets of up to + 37% in a few hours.

A gap of hope in the darkness of this time of pandemic opened when the association between the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the German BioNTech announced yesterday their vaccine against the coronavirus and that it has achieved 90% effectiveness in preventing the disease during scientific trials.

IBTM Events announces that IBTM World 2020 will transition to being a virtual event this year. This difficult decision has been made in close consultation with partners and is a result of the incredibly unpredictable travel restrictions that continue to be in place across the globe because of COVID-19.

Some events ask us why it is better to use our accommodation widget instead of using the Booking one.

1. Unlike Booking, we have thought of a specific usability for events.
2. We offer more results, in addition of offering those from Booking. We also show Airbnbs, Expedia, Agoda and up to 50 other providers: that makes us unique.
3. We show a map view with the distances on foot or by car to the event.
4. We have 3.2 times higher conversion than Booking for events and therefore we make more money for events that want to be our partners.
5. We can customize the look and feel of the accommodation map so it fits your website, for example. Add recommended hotels or even points of interest.
6. Signing up with Closer2event takes 5 minutes.

COVID19 is subjecting the world to a health crisis that will mark an era. The world remains day after day waiting to receive news about the dates on which the population can be vaccinated and return to normality.

We already have 175 vaccines in the process of approval. Most of them are in the 2nd phase and a few others already in the 3rd and final phase with the aim of obtaining a 1st vaccine before the end of the year. The idea is to start vaccinating by risk sectors already in the first quarter of 2021.

We are already in the de-escalation phase, something that seemed a long way off. Doubts continue and after losing Easter, the sector will try not to lose the summer, although nobody knows for sure what will happen.

Everyone’s interest in getting to know the protocols draw how all activities related to the tourism industry will be from now on, the relationship industry par excellence that must adapt to social distancing.

A new era begins, that of the “new normality” and will last until a reliable vaccine appears. Traveling abroad will not be easy or safe, at least in the short and medium term. An entire industry, such as events, airlines, accommodation and restaurants, will be affected in a very deep way. Perhaps science will show us before the vaccine arrives that there is a way to alleviate the devastating effects of the pandemic is coming.

Masks and hydroalcolic gel will be part of our lives. And for the common good it is in our hands to reduce the rate of infections.