Insight from Jonathan Weiss, Commercial Director for Dettol Global Business Solutions
Despite the cost-of-living crisis biting hard, the Northern Hemisphere summer is in full swing, and both Brits and Aussies are heading on holidays in record numbers.
Recent research shows that 90% of Australians plan to travel internationally in the next year1, and more than half (52%) of Britons intend to take a summer holiday, with 42% doing so overseas2. With travel on the rise, airports, planes and transport hubs, with many people sharing the same spaces and touch points hands can be a germ motorway.
With transport providers and hubs such as train stations, airports and airlines facing increased demand for their services, here’s how travel providers can keep hygiene standards up through the use of effective products and science-backed protocols.
Keep surfaces clean by adopting targeted hygiene practices
According to a study conducted by Auburn University3, germs can linger for days, even up to a week on airplane surfaces such as armrests, window shades, tray tables and toilet handles. Furthermore, even after cleaning, travellers’ hands can pick up and spread contamination around, quickly making surfaces unhygienic in busy spaces. For this reason, understanding where and when to direct cleaning and disinfection measures is critical.
By applying a Targeted Hygiene approach – disinfecting at key moments where hygiene surface and hand hygiene interventions need to be prioritised – we can ensure resources are used effectively when and where they are most needed4,5. This means focusing on what needs the most attention, for example, disinfection of seating areas between flights, and disinfecting high touch points such as in bathrooms when they are in greater use during flight times, for example after mealtimes, when the lights come on after a period of rest and before descent. This Targeted Hygiene approach can also be applied to airports and train stations considering peak travel times.
Combat hygiene complacency using ‘nudge theory’
Hygiene in public spaces is a shared responsibility between users and businesses or facilities management. This means that we need to consider what people do in the spaces and encourage them to help with hygiene through hand washing and sanitising at key moments such as after using the bathroom.
A great approach to encourage behaviour change whether on a societal or an individual level is the use of ‘nudging’ to influence a person or group of people to adopt a particular behaviour. An experiment by Richard Thaler at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in which his team etched a fake fly into the airport urinals unveiled that men’s aim reduced spillage by 80% when urinating6. Taking this approach, nudging can be adopted to encourage a variety of behaviours, such as hand sanitiser usage, hand washing and empowering travellers to make the most of disinfecting wipes and sanitiser by placing them strategically in plain sight.
For example, at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Dettol Pro Solutions placed hand sanitiser dispensers within easy reach (preferably not wall mounted), used talking dispensers at entrances and placed engaging stickers on the backs of toilet cubicle doors to remind people to wash their hands. Disinfecting wipes can also be provided, for example for travellers to wipe down surfaces in their spaces on aircrafts or in restaurant or desk areas on the ground; these are all important components of an inclusive hygiene solution.
The benefit of brands with heritage
As we move closer to pre-pandemic levels of travel, it’s important that consumers feel protected from the spread of germs in public spaces. Ensuring the environments travellers’ find themselves in are hygienically clean, implementing specific measures rooted in efficacy and efficiency is highly important.
When used as instructed, disinfecting products by brands who prioritise research and rigour can help to reduce viruses and bacteria on surfaces and hands. Using well-known and trusted products such as products within Dettol’s range, can have a highly positive impact in supporting the travel industry. For example, the recently launched Pro Cleanse Liquid Hand Wash is a testament to Dettol’s commitment to quality. It’s Dettol’s first 1st Ever Liquid Hand Wash Purely for Professional Use. With an antibacterial formula that’s tough on dirt, soft on skin and is dermatologically tested to ensure suitability for frequent and repetitive use in professional settings to effectively break the chain of viruses and bacteria infection.
Travel providers are a vital part of all global economies particularly in the UK and Australia, and helping to protect consumers and employees from the spread of germs when travelling will allow for the continued vibrancy of the industry as a whole.
Head over to the Dettol Pro Solutions website to find out more about implementing healthy hygiene practices that help stop the spread of bacteria and viruses and keep customers safe.
1 Clarke J 2023, ‘Covid, cost-of-living pressures aren’t contagious, wanderlust is the only thing biting in winter’, The Australian, accessed 12 July 2023 <https://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/covid-costofliving-pressures-arent-contagious-wanderlust-is-the-only-thing-biting-in-winter/news-story/6f9bc213999db365ccd87bd071ea9948>
2 Readly 2023, ‘All abroad: over a third of Brits will travel abroad this summer’, Readly, accessed 12 July 2923<https://news.cision.com/readly/r/all-abroad–over-a-third-of-brits-will-travel-abroad-this-summer,c3787899>
3 https://etd.auburn.edu/handle/10415/4066?show=full
4 Bloomfield SF, Rook GA, Scott EA, Shanahan F, Stanwell-Smith R, Turner P. 2016. Time to abandon the hygiene hypothesis: new perspectives on allergic disease, the human microbiome, infectious disease prevention and the role of targeted hygiene. Perspectives in Public Health. 2016;136(4):213-224. doi:10.1177/1757913916650225
5 The Case for Targeted Hygiene, 2019, Accessed 7 July 2022 at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1757913919864070#:~:text=Targeted%20Hygiene%20is%20an%20 approach,in%20Figures%201%20and%202).
6 Oullier, O., Cialdini, R., Thaler, R.H. and Mullainathan, S., 2010. Improving public health prevention with a nudge. Economic Perspectives, 6(2), pp.117-36.
