Shaun Prime is the CEO of Remote Year, the leading platform for remote working professionals eager to experience the world with a like-minded community. To date, Remote Year has successfully launched and operated more than 80 programs in 40 cities around the world. Prime has led the company through the COVID-19 pandemic to determine resuming programs in a way that keeps attendees, staff and the host communities safe. As a result, Remote Year implemented a vaccine mandate for all program attendees and staff. Visit remoteyear.com/covid-policy for more information.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it sent shockwaves through the travel industry and called into question if travel as we knew it would ever recover. With vaccination rates climbing globally, many people can’t wait to leave behind the days of isolation and see the world. Coupled with companies across the country adopting Work from Anywhere (WFA) incentives and a strong desire to connect, interest in work and travel programs is surging.

However, as COVID continues to ebb and flow throughout different countries around the world, resulting in a variety of restrictions and requirements, international work, and travel events and program planners, have been faced with the tough decision of whether or not to impose vaccine mandates for their program attendees.

Countries, cruises and tour companies are increasingly requiring vaccines, but amongst community-based travel programs for remote professionals, adoption has been slow. While the initial hesitancy to adopt such measures may have originally stemmed from a fear of appearing political or alienating groups of potential attendees, there has been an industry shift in favor of adopting vaccine mandates as a means of prioritizing the health and safety of program attendees, simplifying logistics and championing responsible travel practices.

Increased Demand for Work and Travel Programs

While the pandemic has made international travel more difficult in general, it has also created new opportunities for community-based travel for working professionals. During the past year and a half, many people became accustomed to working remotely full-time, and many wish to continue doing so in some capacity. A recent survey conducted by FlexJobs found that an astounding 97% of survey attendees desire some kind of remote work, whether that be fully remote or working in a hybrid environment. As travel restrictions have started to ease around the world, many employees want to get out of their homes and take the freedom that remote work allows on the road.

As a result, companies have been facing increasing pressure to evolve their remote working policies. Employees want the freedom to be able to work from anywhere, not just their basement or home office — and companies have adapted. Recently, companies such as Google, Unilever, Salesforce, Deloitte, American Express and Spotify have announced policies that allow their employees to work remotely from other parts of the world for one to two months each year.

With an increased interest in working from anywhere, many companies are investing in trusted work travel programs, such as Remote Year, to ensure that their employees are logging on from a stable and secure network, and are also supported on their journey — no matter where in the world they are working from. Programs and events designed for working professionals are appealing to employers, as they not only offer benefits such as co-working spaces and high-speed Wi-Fi, but they also prioritize the well-being of attendees and involve immersive travel and work experiences that help their employees grow both personally and professionally.

The community-based aspect of such programs is also appealing to those who are ready to burst from their COVID bubbles and network while traveling the globe with other professionals. When organizing community travel events and programs for working professionals, safety of attendees is of the utmost concern for planners and organizers, and has been one of the driving forces behind the vaccine mandates being implemented in the industry.

Ensuring Participant Safety

While it’s important to respect individual decisions and rights, attendee health and safety is paramount when planning any type of event or program. From concerts and conferences to immersive community-based work and travel programs, events planners need to have protocols, restrictions and crisis plans in place. The stakes are even higher when the event brings together people from around the world and involves international travel. Protecting the health and safety of attendees is a key drive for mandates — but the communities of destinations are important to consider as well. Travel companies should vie to leave positive footprints on local communities, people and economies. In economically disadvantaged communities that don’t have robust health-care systems or readily available access to the vaccine, travel groups have an ethical obligation to maintain their trust and protect host countries as best as possible.

The uncertainty that COVID created has led to significant mental and emotional stress. Vaccine mandates for work, and travel events and programs, help relieve some of that stress by providing peace of mind for attendees and event planners. Recent research conducted by Gallup found that the majority of U.S. Americans are in favor of vaccine mandates for air travel (61%) and hotel stays (53%).

In many cases, these mandates go beyond attendee vaccination, and require all staff involved in facilitating events and programs also to be vaccinated. This not only promotes staff and attendee safety, but keeps things running smoothly by reducing the risk of staff shortages.

Avoiding a Logistics Nightmare

On top of attendee, staff and local safety, organizing an experience that involves international travel without a vaccine requirement in place can prove particularly challenging when it comes to planning and execution. The rules and requirements for countries, regions and cities are constantly changing, and it feels almost impossible to keep up. Most countries now accept proof of internationally approved vaccines in order to enter the country and undertake day-to-day activities. This means that things should run fairly smoothly if everyone in your program group is fully vaccinated.

While it may be possible to travel to a place without being vaccinated, it might not be possible to do much once you get there without regular testing throughout the stay. Several European countries are currently adopting restrictions that prevent unvaccinated people from entering restaurants, bars or public events. In places where negative tests can still be used as proof of a clean bill of health, needing to get COVID tests every few days can really add up. They range from $10-$100, and validity may only last 24 to 72 hours. In some places, tests are administered by private clinics, making them potentially difficult to schedule — especially on weekends — and expensive.

Having to facilitate regular testing for program attendees can be time consuming, expensive and disrupt the event’s flow. It will also likely require additional planning on the part of events and program organizers, and possibly additional staff to assist non-vaccinated attendees with testing, while other program leaders carry on with the vaccinated attendees. While vaccine mandates may limit who is able to participate in work and travel programs and events, they simplify the logistics of group experiences.

While there is always a risk of injury or illness when traveling or attending events, increased research has shown an effectiveness of vaccines on reducing the transmission of COVID and reducing the symptoms for those who have been vaccinated, thereby resulting in reduced need for medical assistance. We’ve witnessed firsthand the difficulties presented when staff and program attendees contract COVID. These instances are stressful, taxing on our teams, difficult for our local vendors to manage, and negatively impact the experience of everyone in the program. This is why it’s essential for events organizers to implement vaccine mandates, which can help reduce the impact of the pandemic on their attendees’ valuable experiences. C&IT