During this pandemic, the global travel industry has suffered losses of 3.9 trillion euros and more than 62 million people have lost their jobs, with business travel suffering even more than leisure travel.
In 2020, business travel spending fell by 61%, but is expected to grow by 26% in 2021 and 34% in 2022. This recovery in business travel, according to data published by the World Travel & Tourism Council, will not be homogeneous across all continents.
In Europe, for example, growth is expected to be 36% this year and 28% next year.
On the other hand, if we analyze the opinion of the majority of Covid researchers19 , they predict that it will become endemic for a long time, albeit with a much lower virulence.
In addition, there are currently very different vaccination levels depending on the country, ranging from 1% in Tanzania, China as well as Canada and the UK have exceeded 60% and the USA has exceeded 50%. India only 12% with data as of September.
In short, we have had a very bad time, but a new horizon seems to be opening up, although still with many shadows and with the imperative need for customers who want to travel, whether for leisure or business, to have comprehensive insurance.
The response to these challenges has been solved in a very satisfactory way by the specialist travel insurers, in relation to essential coverages such as medical expenses, medical transfers, etc., incorporating Covid19 as an additional illness. But these are not the only risks that a traveler faces, both then and now.
Political turbulence and natural disasters also have a major impact on business and leisure travelers. When they plan a getaway or a long trip, they value the assurance that they have everything under control and that the destination will comply with the expected health and safety measures. In this line in Iris Global we have developed a new concept around travel safety that we have called Safe Travels. It is based on three pillars: travel insurance covering Covid19, an app with useful information in the field of comprehensive safety and an international assistance network of our own and reinforced worldwide. To promote this environment, we have allied ourselves, of course, with technology.
This app has data from more than 220 locations around the world. It includes a general description of the country, alerts and safety information of any kind at the destination, guidance on what to do during the trip, cultural content, as well as updated information on the evolution of the health emergency and medical guidance in a broad sense, not only from Covid19. As the insured crosses the border of a country, the application sends a notification with a welcome message containing a link to country-specific information. Likewise, as the traveler changes location, he or she will receive notifications with information related to each new location, also sending alerts as the user approaches risk areas.
For high-level alerts, notification will be sent by text message.
For each medical condition, the content incorporates a description, a listing of symptoms and indications for preventive measures. For medications, the content includes description, side effects, significant drug interactions, contraindications in case of pregnancy and brand names in several languages.
Through the APP the traveler can directly contact local emergency numbers or the IRIS GLOBAL assistance center.
The app includes eLearning options, with 12 video-based learning modules on topics around destination preparedness, transportation security, destination safety, cyber security, travel health risks, crowd safety, LGTBIQ travelers, terrorism or mass casualty attack, vehicle theft, high-risk locations and travel risk awareness.
However, all this without a strong international assistance network is of little use.
For this reason, we have further expanded our international network through agreements signed with the main national health networks in the different countries of the world, relying on local companies that are leaders in their sector, since they have the best knowledge of the areas where our customers' needs arise.
"Safe Travels to everyone!
