The Palm Beach 100 FORWARD THINKING
Transformed Tourism Why not even a global pandemic can tamp travel to our sunny shores for long By Skye Sherman
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f you’re an avid traveler or among the millions employed by the tourism sector, you know that the hospitality industry suffered one of the pandemic’s hardest hits. Travel was dealt a serious blow, but it has risen again from the ashes—at least in Palm Beach County.
Paul Leone
Keeping it Clean Local institutions have been forced to evolve, adjusting long-established practices for welcoming and cleaning up after guests and the way basic procedures like food service and safe transit are handled. “As an enduring 125-year-old property, we know very well that change is necessary to thrive, not just survive,” says Paul Leone, CEO of The Breakers. As an organization that has made “rigging for bad weather” part of its long-term strategy, The Breakers chooses not to judge the changes wrought by COVID-19 as good or bad, he adds. When the resort reopened in May 2020, its leadership launched the comprehensive B SAFE Health & Safety Initiative, which aims to quell the spread of COVID-19 through updated employee practices and cleaning protocols. Leone says the procedures “will remain embedded in our culture for the foreseeable future.”
Laura Beebe, director of airports for Palm Beach County, also sees permanent changes to the status quo. While airports have always prioritized the security of passengers, she says, the pandemic led to a broadened focus on the safety of the airport environment itself. “Early in the pandemic, [Palm Beach International Airport] developed a comprehensive plan to ensure best practices were implemented in line with rapidly evolving industry standards to reduce the spread of germs and viruses in the airport environment,” Beebe shares. Along with many other local businesses, PBIA was awarded a GBAC STAR Accreditation, which signifies that the facility is equipped to handle infectious disease outbreaks and biohazardous situations. According to Beebe, the measures PBIA adopted as part of this plan are permanent.
Getting There The travel experience—getting to your destination, checking in, and getting comfortable—has changed, perhaps forever in some scenarios. But not all of tourism’s forced evolutionary leaps are negative. Consider the accelerated embrace of nextgen technology like touchless transactions and temperature screenings; enjoy the lax cancellation policies while they exist. Mask
Courtesy of The Breakers
Mike
Pappas 100 The Palm Beach
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