Despite the recent repercussions of the coronavirus all but flat-lining the travel sector, according to one expert there’s still hope to be garnered. That hope could even be bolstered by the use of just 1 new product.

No other industry is likely to have the financial downfall like that of the travel industry. Of course people’s lives will be irreversibly changed and we are speaking strictly about the economic repercussions.

Many travel companies have been forced into administration, and we’ve even seen large scale airlines break protocols on refunds as they struggle to cope with the torrent of complaints and refund requests.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, up to 75 million jobs and £1.7 trillion in revenue could be lost. This will of course unnerve millions of families across all 7 continents, and with no accurate predictor of when things will resume to normal (if at all) the cause for concern seems well justified.

However there may be a silver lining in the clouds of the current crisis. That silver lining comes by the way of an innovative new product. It might not be as “high-tech” as you imagine.

Pola Henderson (travel writer) has made her opinion known on how the post coronavirus travel products could help us return to normality with a sense of security sooner rather than later.

Pola Henderson: “I think people will be looking at products that give them a sense of security.

“So perhaps some travel gear that has innovative fabrics that are easier to clean and dry quickly.

“For example, a shirt that you can wash in your hotel sink and then it’s dry the next day.

“I think we might travel with fewer pieces, maybe even reversible pieces.”

It makes sense for a new more hygienic type of fabric would be preferable in a post coronavirus travel community.

“I think anything that gives us that sense of security - innovative fabrics, smart textiles - is an opportunity.

“Clothing that we see which is made for athletes - those technologies can be translated into clothing for travellers.

“There are already companies doing this on a smaller scale.”

It’s likely that this will mark a great opportunity for current juggernauts in the clothing industry to find a new niche to exploit. That being said it also gives scope for new innovative brands to come in and provide a new alternative that doesn’t sacrifice function over form.

Pola Henderson then went on to say that: “I think we will also see something like this in the luggage sector - again maybe some new fabrics or something that’s easy to disinfect or clean”.

“If we look at the coronavirus and averting climate change and we combine this, there will be so much innovation.

“By this time next year there will be so many new start-ups.

“There will be new products and a lot more online services that didn’t exist before.”

Given Pola is a brand ambassador for a clothing company already, it makes sense she’d be one of the first to consider the ramifications of the pandemic on the travel clothing sector.

Time will tell how important this new niche of super hygienic travel clothing will be, but it seems almost certain that it will gain traction in the next few years.