Travel executives are still experiencing a cautious optimism, a muted buzz if you will, two days after Pfizer announced its vaccines had made it through Phase 3 trials with a 90 percent efficacy rate.
The key word?
Confidence.
Consumer confidence.
"We anticipate it will improve people's confidence in, and mindset around, travel planning," Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO, Hyatt Hotels said in a statement to TravelPulse.com. "It sets us on an even clearer path to recovery."
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, in conjunction with BioNTech, made its announcement on Monday morning, sending the stock market to record highs buoyed by the travel sector. Hoplamazian surely was happy - Hyatt's 20.62 percent jump in stock price led all major hotel chains.
"Since the beginning of the pandemic, we believed a vaccine would be an important element for the travel industry's full recovery," he said. "The latest news on the progress of a vaccine for COVID-19 is extremely encouraging, and a major milestone for our industry, for the economy and for people around the world."
"We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen," Pfizer CEO and Chairman Dr. Albert Bourla said in a statement. "With (Monday's) news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis."
According to Yahoo Finance, Pfizer plans to apply for emergency use authorization of the vaccine at the end of this month, fueling hopes that people will venture out to theaters and entertainment venues, and start traveling again.
That is welcome news to Becca Bides, the Vice-President of Global Communications for Visit Orlando, the travel arm for one of the world's leading tourist destinations.
"The travel industry is a vital driver of our nation's jobs, economy, and quality of life, and nowhere is this more valued than in Orlando," Bides told TravelPulse in a statement. "Our destination has developed strong safety measures that both incorporate the new reality and preserve the Orlando vacation experience, and consumers are starting to venture out for travel experiences close to home. A potential vaccine holds promise for the world as a whole, and as a critical factor to eventually increase consumer confidence in travel on a broader level."
There's that word again.
The key to any vaccine will be an emotional investment on the part of the public to start traveling again - to get on an airplane, to stay overnight in a hotel, to interact with people at mass events like going to Disney World or a concert or a ballgame.
"If 2020 has shown us anything, it's the importance of connecting with others," Hoplamazian said. "A vaccine on the horizon - along with advances being made in accessibility of rapid, high quality and low-cost testing - brings us all one step closer to reconnecting, and once again experiencing the joy of travel."
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