When all this is over, we will all look back and wonder how the whole world got unravelled by a virus but in the meantime, we have to deal with it and live through it.
And write about it.
Because at times like these, you have to keep reminding yourself and others that life goes on, and we are getting back up on the horse. Travel companies that imposed bans on their employees have eased back – travel is essential if business is to go on.
Living life in Orange in Singapore means waking up to blue skies every day, going for meetings – I never knew there were so many cool cafes in town – washing and sanitizing hands, speaking to taxi drivers and commiserating with their drop in income and thanking the government for the latest Budget to help companies and residents through this Black Swan event, from cash payouts to training grants to subsidies, as well as for their transparency and tracking efforts to control the outbreak, actions that have been lauded by global institutions.
Post-Covid 19, I reckon Singapore will come out smelling like sweet disinfected roses.
As of this moment, thousands of our Asian travel brethren are headed to Berlin for the world’s biggest travel show which, as of today, is going on as scheduled from March 4-6.
It has sent an advisory, saying, “The safety and health of our exhibitors, visitors and partners is our number one priority. At present, we do not foresee any impacts for the upcoming ITB Berlin but as a precaution we are introducing new measures to increase the safety of all attendees at ITB Berlin.”
This includes having rapid response English speaking medical teams and other health professionals onsite; hand disinfectors at all entrances, toilets and washrooms; and increasing the frequency of disinfection of sanitary facilities.
And this is the bit I like – “Please notice these simple, common-sense actions to avoid close contact with other people like you would do with other flu viruses.”
It makes no mention of recommending that visitors who have been to certain countries in Asia in the past 14 days refrain from attending, unlike a London-based event which covered this aspect in their advisory, as per “current advice from UK officials and the World Health Organisation (WHO)”.
Curious to understand the thinking behind different advisories, I reached out to UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, to see if they had guidelines.
Here’s their recommendation to event organisers.
• Put the health of participants first and as such follow the guidance/instructions from the respective authorities at the destination of their event.
• Currently, the WHO is clear on NOT advising general restrictions on travel. UFI has published advise for personal health protection on UFI.org/Coronavirus.
• UFI strongly encourages every organiser to keep the face-to-face platforms open, as industries and communities have an increased need to meet in person in disruptive times. (This is the UFI Linkedin feed.)
It will be interesting to see what unfolds at ITB Berlin. The world is keeping watch – it is the first major global travel event to be held this year, and will set the tone for others to follow.
Will attendance from Asia be affected? Not because we are scared to fly but because we wonder how we will be received. A Thai friend who attended a trade show in Germany (not travel) this month said visitors stayed away from China and Asia stands even though they were manned by local representatives.
I have faith in my travel brethren that we will rise above this.
In any case, one Malaysian Chinese executive, living in Singapore, who’s attending ITB Berlin, said she may dye her hair blonde.
Speaking of blondes, I had drinks at the Raffles Hotel (not Singapore Sling) with Hollywood actor Nicholas Hammond who will always be remembered for playing (the blonde) Friedric Von Trapp in “Sound of Music”, even though he’s grown up a lot since that role at age 14.
So here’s an insider tale. When filming the “Favourite Things” scene, the producer came in and said he wasn’t blonde enough so they hauled him midway to dressing room and poured Marilyn Monroe’s blonde dye all over his head.
Anyway, he says, it’s his most unforgettable role. “How can I forget when everyone reminds me?” he laughs, having just returned from the Oscars. We of course discuss “Parasite” and how Hollywood felt about a Korean movie winning the Best Film award. Thank goodness it wasn’t called “Virus”, is all I can say.
Hammond spends time between Sydney and Los Angeles, and it was his first visit to Singapore and he had loads of media interviews – the best of times to get publicity, I reckon – and he said, referring to the Orange alert, “I am not worried about things like this.”
When you can survive Hollywood, I guess it fortifies you for life.
Speaking of fortification, I also had my French extended family in town for the last 10 days. I am so proud of them that they didn’t cancel the trip to visit their son, Benoit Robbe, and us. There’s six of them (three generation), including two kids. They told me they have noticed how much more relaxed Singaporeans became with each passing day, with fewer people wearing masks, as they adjust to life in Orange.
They’ve had a whale of a time – having attractions to themselves. I think they visited every attraction Singapore had to offer (some I didn’t know of) and still, they say, 10 days wasn’t enough to do everything. Yesterday, I took them to Little India and over Google Translate, we chatted over chapatti and curry.
I feel they should get a Travel Oscar.