3 ways card providers helped travelers vacation safely in a pandemic

2020 is a lost year for travel. People around the world spent more than half the year at home. Away from crowded places and closed spaces to minimize the spread of the Coronavirus.

A closed-off world

When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, the first industry to be majorly affected was the travel and hospitality industries. As countries went into lockdowns, and travel restrictions were put down, hotel booking tanked and airports wore deserted looks.

Global air travel traffic has hit an all-time low. And it is not expected to return to pre-COVID-19 levels until 2024. In the meantime, global passenger numbers for 2020 are expected to decline by 55% compared to 2019.

Hospitality players suffered due to the pandemic as well. During the peak of the pandemic, hotels and resorts struggled to fill their rooms. The average occupancy levels in August were 50%, nearly 30% lesser than a year ago. And average daily room rates have decreased by 23%.

However, all is not bleak. While air travel is low, other players from the industry, especially those in the private sectors, have been doing what they can to encourage people to take vacations. Socially distant and safer vacations, of course.

Credit card players help their cardholders holiday, COVID-free

Cards providers and banks are have come up with innovative ways to provide their consumers with safe alternatives to take vacations. They have partnered with hotels, chartered flights, and high-end travel companies to offer exclusive travel-bubble packages to their cardholders. And in the process, allow their travel portfolio to recover from the losses caused by the pandemic.

To learn more about these strategies, download the Travel in the Age of COVID-19 Report.