Hospitality in the news - 15 October 2020

Your latest instalment of articles and opinions from across the hospitality sector.

TW:thinkingdifferently

Last time out we looked at how hotel and leisure operators have become increasingly creative in order to increase revenues. Now it's the turn of countries who are stepping up efforts to entice tourists to visit.

Recently the Dominican Republic government announced that they would pay tourists' medical expenses as part of a push to boost tourism in the Caribbean as they have seen a 65% drop in tourist numbers year on year. The government will cover all medical expenses in the event of a medical emergency during your holiday, whether COVID-related or not, and other expenses such as quarantine lodging, airfare, doctor consultations, and medical transfers are also covered.

UK travellers who wish to avoid the 10pm curfew and get some winter sun can also take advantage of some innovative travel insurance packages. Turkey has offered visitors extensive medical travel cover for plans priced as low as €15-23 per person. Portugal has a similar initiative and we are likely to see other countries whose economy is largely dependent on tourism adopt similar innovative measures to ensure they are not left behind.

As a next step, we might suggest free cocktails are included as well! As Eat Out to Help Out showed, Brits will go a long way for a cheap deal.