10 minute read
COVID-19 and its Effect on Student and Youth Travel
HOW STUDENT TOUR GROUPS AND DESTINATIONS ARE ADAPTING TO THE UNPRECEDENTED TRAVEL CLIMATE
By Lisa Curtin
For decades, student travel has been gaining momentum, with tour operators opening their doors across the United States to serve the growing population. Educators have been inspired to teach beyond classroom doors, band directors to bring their performance students to entertain new audiences, and dance and sports teams traveling across the country to compete.
These opportunities affo ded hundreds of thousands of youth to experience the thrill of travel, increase social skills and gain an appreciation for other cultures and ethnic backgrounds. And suddenly, in March of 2020, all this stopped with the pandemic brought on by COVID-19. Back in March,
I doubt anyone thought this virus would keep our students out of schools for the remainder of the school year, and for many, change the beginning of the 2020- 2021 school year and the course of travel.
As time passed, group leaders were hard-pressed to cancel their tours, with tour operators having no choice but to react. Not only did this affect the our operators, who in many cases are small business owners, but all those services that are part of the process of operating a successful tour. From motorcoach carriers to the staff member serving a meal o a group, all are affec ed. The industry simply came to a complete stop.
The world, once so big and accessible, now seems very small.
HOW WILL STUDENT AND YOUTH
TRAVEL REBOUND?
As group leaders cope with the opening of a new school year, focus is rightly placed on providing the best educational model possible. Listening to local news, one certainly knows the model varies greatly from state to state and even within a state.
Travel may not be at the forefront of their thoughts, but it does exist. The looming question is: when will group leaders once again feel comfortable traveling?
Over the course of the past month, I have been speaking with educators in many disciplines, from teachers to sports directors to school administrators, all who have traveled with their students or sports teams. There is no doubt that a desire exists to once again be on the road. However, the majority feel the opportunity to introduce the idea to their community will be best served once the current situation settles down, a vaccine is introduced and their hometowns can bear the cost of travel. With many families still affec ed by unemployment, the best-case scenario in starting to travel again is late spring of 2021 with great confidence i moving forward by fall of 2021.
To rebound, families will need assurance of consumer protection and safe travel practices.
SOCIAL OR PHYSICAL DISTANCE? IT IS USED INTERCHANGEABLY, BUT ONE SENDS A POSITIVE MESSAGE.
I have twin 15-year-old grandsons who play lacrosse. In July of 2020, donning a mask, I attended a very well-managed lacrosse tournament in Indianapolis. Literally hundreds of young athletes from around the Midwest participated in this tournament, with family members in attendance to cheer them on. The tournament management did a great job of informing the teams in advance of safety precautions, pre-screened hotels before blocking rooms and did away with a few usual gatherings, such as team potluck dinners. Across the field, signs ere posted to practice physical distancing, choosing to use the word physical over social. This led to an air of community, compliance and respect for others while allowing social interaction at a safe distance. For the fir t time since COVID-19 affec ed our everyday lives, it was encouraging to see so many people in one place complying with tournament management guidance. While the team members did not take a bus to the tournament, local hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions benefi ed.
ONCE STUDENT AND YOUTH TOURISM REBOUNDS, AND IT WILL, IT MAY LOOK DIFFERENT AT FIRST.
In our lifetime we have witnessed other epidemic situations—SARS, Swine Flu and Bird Flu to name a few. We forget that many people across our country (and with SARS, parts of Canada) were affec ed by these viruses. Tourism did rebound, and those viruses became distant in our minds. The effect f COVID-19 may be longer lasting, but one day this too will be a distant, albeit historical, memory.
Once group leaders are once again ready to travel, and many are itching to do so, a consideration is that communities may be more accepting of local destinations at fir t, perhaps starting with travel in their own state. There are hundreds of wonderful places to visit in every state, and for many the comfort of being not too far from home (and in most cases, reachable in less than a day’s drive) will give parents the advantage of saying yes to a trip rather than feeling angst. Inherently, parents want to provide their children with opportunities.
SAFETY IS FIRST…BUT DO NOT LIVE IN FEAR.
Tour operators know that safety is at the forefront of every group leader’s mind, and safety is the tour operator’s top priority. The same applies for motorcoach operators and the industry as a whole. In speaking with tour operators, many are using this time to revamp their safety protocols and crisis management plans. The entire industry is working together to get youth back on the road, safely, and bring the world back to being an accessible place.
We simply cannot live in fear. Life is too short. We have just a blink of time to introduce and inspire a young person to the enriching world of travel and make sure they do not grow up living in fear.
Life changes in the blink of an eye! What happened today will change tomorrow. And change is constant. Let us get out and show our students and youth the world, starting close to home then expanding horizons.
We all have the power, safely, to open the world back up as soon as possible. ■
6 TIPS FOR A SAFE AND SUCCESSFUL STUDENT MOTORCOACH TRIP
Ensure your students’ safety and enjoyment during the COVID-19 outbreak by adhering to these easy-to-follow steps
When COVID-19 quickly spread throughout the world in March of this year, its effects on th travel industry were incalculable. With personal contact limited and mass transportation all but eliminated, vacations and tourism came to a screeching halt. Fortunately, sectors of the industry have begun to stabilize; tourists are slowly beginning to leave home (particularly for outdoor excursions), public transportation has developed safety protocols and there is a renewed interest in family road trips. Unfortunately, the motorcoach industry has been slow to recover.
“There have really been no bookings in the student market,” says Dennis Streif, vice president of Midwest Bus & Motorcoach Association. “We do foresee a lot of developments in 2021, but for now there are only quotes without bookings.” The current health climate raises tough choices for educators. Should we plan an extended school trip to museums or competitions knowing the risks? Will the significant financial vestment result in a
genuine learning opportunity for students? Student-friendly destinations have more than risen to the task by applying exceptional sanitation in museums, implementing social distancing at band competitions and offering a la ge array of virtual options for students who are more comfortable staying at home.
For teachers who still wish to plan a motorcoach trip, they should know that networks across the United States are implementing safety protocols to ensure the group’s safety. “We’re thoroughly sanitizing the coaches, recommending masks and encouraging social distancing as much as possible,” says Streif.
While no school trip in the era of COVID-19 is completely without risk, you can mitigate it by following these helpful tips below. These are not intended as certified medical guidelines, but ather advice for as smooth and stress-free a student travel experience as possible.
1: COMMUNICATION IS KEY
Getting approval and an appropriate budget for your off-si e trip was already daunting before COVID-19 impacted how we consider group travel. Now, you’ll need to be especially communicative to the school board and your department head when proposing an outing. Before your phone, Skype or Zoom call, develop a detailed action plan that will address parents’ health concerns, and make sure school officials e up-to-date on your itinerary throughout the planning process.
2: DEVELOP A CONTINGENCY PLAN
Attraction openings and availability will be fluid or the foreseeable future. You might be planning this trip months in advance, and an additional outbreak or shutdown may occur in the city you intend to visit. In this case, it’s best to develop a backup plan so that your students can remain engaged and safe. You’ll want to verify the refund policies and occupancy protocols with the hotels and attractions you intend to visit before you book, and if museums have supplementary learning materials, make sure they correspond with exhibits that will be open.
3: SUPPLY YOUR STUDENTS
Be sure to include a substantial budget for personal protection equipment (PPE) and hand sanitizer for your students. Make sure that sanitation wipes and hand sanitizer liquid is distributed in individual proportions, and that students bring backup cloth masks in case they lose ones you supply. In addition, dedicate classroom time to reinforcing personal responsibility; if one individual does not comply, they jeopardize the health of everyone on the trip and sacrifice all educ tional components.
4: VEHICLE PREP
While individual charter companies and bus lines will have separate protocols,
GETT explore YSBURG
WITH YOUR GROUP
Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center The official start to your Gettysburg visit. Set the Scene: The film A New Birth of Freedom provides the backdrop for your group’s visit. Feel the Fury: Sense Pickett’s Charge all around you in the light and sound show of the
Call to customize your iconic Gettysburg Cyclorama. student group visit. Share the Journey: Journey through the events and issues surrounding the Civil War 877-874-2478 and the Battle of Gettysburg in the Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War.
GettysburgFoundation.org Tour the Battlefield: Visit the legendary landmarks with a Licensed Battlefield Guide.
GROUP DISCOUNTS | BOXED MEALS | DEDICATED GROUP ENTRANCE | BUS PARKING
confirm th t absolute sterilization is achieved before boarding your motorcoach. Drivers should always wear facemasks and gloves before proceeding to wipe down all crucial touchpoints in the vehicle. In addition to obvious surfaces like armrests and handrails, this also includes overhead bin handles, interior windowpanes, footrests and seatbelts. Each time passengers disembark for bathroom breaks or an educational stop, drivers should re-sanitize these surfaces again.
5: SOCIAL DISTANCING
The CDC recommends individuals maintain six-foot distances from each other whenever possible. To ensure this, students, teachers and chaperones should not sit immediately next to each other. Instead, limit each row to one person and make sure they sit there for the duration of the trip to eliminate viral spread. Protection can also be achieved by putting up a driver protection barrier or curtain or roping of the fir t row of the bus
or moving back the standee line to create more space for the driver. Students should board and exit the motorcoach one at a time and never bunch up, and luggage should be completely removed from the lower deck before individuals retrieve them in an orderly fashion. Reinforce the value of social distancing to your student before and during your trip, and make sure chaperones are upto-date on all school health policies.
6: HOTEL SAFETY:
Conduct thorough research before selecting a hotel, which should have publicly available safety protocols and substantial v entilation systems. There should only be one student, teacher or chaperone in a room at any given time, and meals should be individually deliver ed instead of sharing the communal dining area. ■
