A Change Of Plans

Short-notice changes, additional flight delays, and last-minute cancellations may hound luxury travelers soon, but safety, space, privacy, and flexibility might be the rewards awaiting them at their destinations.

- Tallulah Lu

He can have his way, Benoit Badufle would travel immediately. “I’ve no problem whatsoever with flying. I believe that my set of precautions, added to those implemented by airlines and airports through which I would travel, are enough to keep my family and me safe,” the managing director of Horus Development & Consulting, a consultancy firm specializing in the promotion of luxury travel and luxury hospitality, says. “It is time we moved on.”

Badulfe thinks he will be adequately prepared for cross-border travel. “I’ve been learning a lot about this virus, and I have been able to establish my judgment from the many diverging scientific statements. There is room for balanced behavior, which is no longer dictated by fear but is grounded in common sense and scientific information.”

What concerns Badufle about travel after the pandemic is that there might be less for pleasure and more constraints to get to a destination. He expects COVID-19 to produce a new set of restrictions and rules, on top of those that were implemented in the wake of the so-called ‘War on Terror’ that became the norm worldwide.

Domestic For Now

Gerry Mangentang, co-founder and CEO, IZY.ai, is eager to travel for work and pleasure as soon as the ban is lifted. “As I’m based in Jakarta, my first trip will likely be within Indonesia. I plan to take a trip to Bali for work where we have several partner hotels, and also for leisure.” A hotel tech start-up, IZY.ai provides a mobile concierge platform for hotels allowing them to digitize their services.