In a bid to make travel planning easier in 2022, Lonely Planet has created an online Health Hub to provide a ‘one-stop digital directory’ of country-specific Covid rules. Jenny Southan reports
Lonely Planet’s new Health Hub has been designed with help from digital health and wellness platform Healthline Media (both companies are part of American media company Red Ventures). The portal is dedicated to delivering guidance and advice on health-related travel issues throughout the pandemic (and beyond) for a growing list of 20 destinations.
The Health Hub publishes news from popular destinations around the world that includes details on border restrictions, rules around testing and mask mandates. There is also more general advice on travel health insurance and what to do if you get sick while abroad.
At the moment the Health Hub focuses on 20 destinations including the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Iceland, France, Italy, Japan and Australia. Coverage will expand post-launch to cover more territories.
Healthline Media travel health and wellness expert Dr Jenny Yu is the leading expert voice behind partnership. Dr Yu serves on Healthline Media’s medical affairs team ensuring each of its more than 1,700 articles and videos published each month are evidence-based and medically approved.
She says: “As a lifelong traveller for personal joy and professional fulfillment, I’ve been a fan of Lonely Planet for its clarity and thoroughness. Imagine how excited I am to contribute to this new and very necessary product that provides a dedicated and frequently updated place for everything travelers need to know about traveling safely during the pandemic.
“Together Lonely Planet and Healthline will unravel the complexity in the travel planning process, and help more people travel with confidence.”
Meanwhile, Nitya Chambers, senior vice-president of content and executive editor at Lonely Planet, says: ‘People are excited to travel again and they want to do so informed. The Health Hub will be able to serve Lonely Planet travelers with key information that will help them travel with confidence in this moment where health policy impacts everyone’s plans and will continue to do so.
“With detailed local expertise from Lonely Planet, and clear, medically reviewed advice from Healthline Media we are uniquely positioned to be of service for people eager to book their next trip.”
Healthline Media is a division of RV Health in the Red Ventures portfolio. RV Health CEO Jeff Hallock says: “The new travel health hub by Lonely Planet and Healthline Media brings together two of the world’s most trusted sources of information and advice that will benefit anyone traveling at such an unprecedented and uncertain time.”