Business Traveler, April 2020

A P R I L 2 0 2 0 b u s i n e s s t r a v e l e r u s a c o m 5 WE L C O M E A s this goes to press the world is in the grip of a global health emergency centered around COVID 19 disease a respiratory ailment brought on by a new and heretofore undetected strain of the coronavirus Since the only known strategy to stop the spread of this illness has been containment and quarantine people have stayed home schools and factories shuttered and economies the world over have been crippled Travel is only one of the industries hard hit by restrictions on cross border movement of people There are a few things we know about the disease and a lot more we dont know We know for example that in the absence of knowledge fear tends to gain the upper hand At this moment much of the current state of affairs seems to be shaped mostly by alarm and uncertainty as we all wait for some clarity about the true nature of the disease its near term ramifications and how it will all play out in the long haul Our hearts go out to those who have been lost to this disease and their families and to the countless lives that have been disrupted At this writing this is still a fluid situation But a lot can happen in a month and we can all hope that between the time these words are written and the time you get to read them there will have been significant progress toward a solution However in times such as these a little history may prove instructive Weve been here before health scares disasters both natural and manmade business calamities wars and rumors of wars We could spill much ink on a litany of catastrophes that befall humanity from time to time but well refrain Instead well simply point out these misfortunes have one thing in common We have come through them all And we will this time too Thats because human beings are inherently creative resourceful and most of all brave COVID 19 is both a threat to be countered and a mystery to be solved and we are confident that the best people are on it worldwide And we are equally confident that despite the headaches and the losses right now eventually travel will bounce back We will once again doff our surgical masks shake hands with strangers and take off for parts unknown a little wiser and more careful perhaps but ready to face the world with anticipation and hope Dan Booth Editorial Director Business Traveler North America is published ten times a year at our address as above The magazine is independent of commercial interest The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers who cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions Unsolicited manuscripts will not be accepted for publication All rights reserved Reproduction in whole or in part of the text photographs or illustrations without permission is prohibited Managing Director Jerry Ruud 973 985 7756 JRuud@ btgratefulmedia com Group Publisher Jerry Allison 973 839 6200 JAllison@ businesstravelerusa com Publisher Tiffany Raif 212 729 0197 TRaif@ btgratefulmedia com Editorial Director Dan Booth 336 766 1961 DBooth@ btgratefulmedia com Senior Editor Lark Gould LGould@ btgratefulmedia com Communications Director Karin Murphy KMurphy@ btgratefulmedia com Editor at Large Gretchen Kelly GKelly@ btgratefulmedia com International Editor Ramsey Qubein Assistant Editor Ralf Walters News Media Releases editorial@ btgratefulmedia com Digital Advertising Lauren Wysocki LWysocki@ btgratefulmedia com Advertising Sales 973 839 6200 advertising@ btgratefulmedia com Aram Gesar 646 808 9057 agesar@ airguide us Jim McGinley 818 712 0672 Contributors Hannah Brandler Ameya Bundellu Riaan Jacob George Prachi Joshi Fatima Durrani Khan Tom Otley David Phelan Bryan Yurcan Designer Art Director Michele Cameron MCameron@ btgratefulmedia com Production Marylee DeFerrari mdeferrari@ btgratefulmedia com Subscriptions 973 839 0620 subscriptions@ businesstravelerusa com Grateful Media Group 39 Jinella Court Suite 301 Boonton NJ 07005 973 839 6200 www businesstravelerusa com Keep In Touch Stay Informed sign up for the Business Traveler weekly newsletter at www businesstravelerusa com