Travel beyond COVID-19. What travel will look like during & after COVID-19. A series of interviews with our top Hospitality and Tourism partners from around the world. Updates, Awareness, Wisdom & Education.  

Interview with Jennifer Frusci Virgilio. Partner & Chief Business Development Officer at Queens of Clubs. United Kingdom, France, Italy and Ibiza.

To curate, plan and book your next travel experience, contact me directly. info@carlosmelia.com or +1 917 754 5515.

Queen of Clubs is a Lifestyle Luxury Concierge & DMC based in London, Paris, Rome, and Ibiza working B2B. We are in the destinations and offer 24/7 service to ensure that every last detail is perfect, and clients trips and experiences are never impacted due to last minute unforeseen circumstances that could arise.

Q&A Travel beyond COVID-19. Insight shared from out travel partners around the globe. For follow up questions, kindly contact us directly.

When are you foreseeing your destination opening back for tourists ?
I would say safely from September onwards but it could be sometime this summer depending on the client passports.

What measures have you taken to reopen post COVID-19 ?
Please address sterilization measures, security, mandates on staff and guests testing, transportation etc.
We are working with every ground partner from cars, guides, greeters, venues, hotels, villas, apartments, boats etc. etc to ensure that they are meeting new standards and going above and beyond to ensure customer health & safety. Each country has their own standards that must be met at a minimum and we are working closely with each partner to ensure they are met, fulfilled and not intrusive to an overall experience.

How do you plan to enforce these measures and how will you ensure compliance?
Constant meetings, and with mystery checks where applicable.

How will these measures affect the overall regular experience ?
Currently what we are seeing is the necessity of wearing a mask or having your servers wear a mask, to have your temperature taken, to practice social distancing in museums and public spaces in and outdoors, and to use hand sanitizer and wash hands as much as possible.

Booking & Payment Flexibility Terms and Conditions during and after COVID-19 time.
Yes, we are currently not accepting any payments or deposits until we know 100% that clients will travel and be allowed to travel. We are remaining flexible in all areas of terms & conditions since March.

Will you be offering any special promotions, packages and/or value adds?
Possibly value adds unless hotels offer special promotions.

How will you plan to maintain a level social distancing ?
For example, in cars, if you are not a family a Mercedes V Class is only allowed to have 4 people in the vehicle in Italy normally 6-7. Drivers will have a plexiglass between them and the clients in the car and will wear a mask at all times. Hotels have new rules in place as do museums so our guides will strictly enforce and follow all rules.

Tell us about the current quarantine and restrictions within your destination ?
Italy has re-opened borders to Schengen zone and no quarantine required. New measures in place to be followed.

France is in the next phase and restaurants re-opened. Borders to Schengen open June 15

UK is enforcing a strict quarantine of 14 days for anyone coming in

Ibiza should be re-opening end of June to EU Schengen

Please add any additional information you believe would be helpful to raise travelers trust levels in order to visit ?
Personally I believe that Italy, France and other EU Countries have done an excellent job in trying to enforce new rules and keep the disease at bay. They are now very prepared in hospitals and the guidelines in place by each country are being respected and fully enforced so I feel very comfortable to be living life in our new normal with mask.

Now on a lighter and positive note,

Have you taken advantage of this quiet months, to curate new experiences or discover new locations/destinations? If YES Which ?
YES in all of our destinations with a focus on unique, sustainable, and others

What is your favorite experience at your destination that you wish to share with my clients/readers?
I think food tours are always the most fun in each place and all very unique. I also love private visits of any kind like Castel Gandolfo visit of the Gardens and Pope bedroom, Churchill War Rooms Behind the Scenes or Houses of Parliament, or Louvre with the Curator of the museum, or meeting a local artisan to learn a new craft or trade. I also love boat trips for a day in Amalfi or Tuscan Coast, Venice, Italian Lakes, on the Seine or Thames River, South of France or Ibiza too. Hiking in Ibiza too & visiting the local markets. Probably my fave is exploring the Aeolians by boat!

Some useful resources you might want to keep in mind, for your upcoming travels during and after COVID-19.

IATA Travel Center  
www.iatatravelcentre.com

US Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs  
www.travel.state.gov

CDC Center for Disease Control & Prevention
www.cdc.gov

World Health Organization
www.who.int

Homeland Security
www.dhs.gov

Global COVID-19 Flights & Travel Restrictions
app.developer.here.com

World Travel & Tourism Council
www.wttc.org/COVID-19/

World Travel Restrictions UN World Food Programme
www.unwfp.maps.arcgis.com

Observatory on Border Crossings Status due to COVID-19
www.wiki.unece.org

Health travel advice for all Countries
www.travelhealthpro.org.uk

EU Reopen
reopen.europa.eu