Vaccine passports will be a new form of identification that will be required to check-in at hotels, board airplanes, attend large conferences and concerts, and so forth. Large corporations are working to configure a passport that will be universally accepted and includes details on vaccinations, as well as an expiration date to ensure validity.
As part of my series about “developments in the travel industry over the next five years”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Carl Demarco.
Carl Demarco is Chairman and CEO of Citizen Care Health Solutions™ and is also Chairman and CEO of Camillion Corp., a media entertainment company with interests in the technology/innovation sector. In 2019, he co-founded Citizen Care Health Solutions with a goal to provide smart screening and testing pods for Covid-19 and has grown the company to offer high-volume testing and travel support. Their latest offer, the Citizen Care BOOST!™, is the only virtual testing bundle that includes access to an innovative digital health platform with the first-of-its-kind health and travel concierge.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
As someone who has been in the entertainment business for decades, making the transition into digital health and travel tech was not something I could have ever anticipated. However, the pandemic opened up the need to provide, and essentially create, solutions that would help businesses get back on track and support the economy’s recovery after one of the most unprecedented setbacks in history.
In my former role as President of the WWE Canada, I had some experience responding to the SARS outbreak and developing initiatives that helped the city of Toronto get back on its feet. And so, when we started to see some similarities emerge with the COVID-19 pandemic, we knew we could offer something to the public that would make it easier and safer to resume business operations and travel, as opposed to seeing more companies close their doors and more people lose their jobs.
Citizen Care Health Solutions was formed by a group of concerned citizens early on in the pandemic to offer safe, tech-forward mobile testing solutions for businesses — and has since evolved into a full-service healthcare provider that employs over 500 across the nation.
It was born out of a conversation I had with my good friend Zenon Radewych from WZMH Architects, who I refer to as a “chief creative genius,” and together we came up with the idea of creating portable virus testing labs that had all the negative pressure HVAC requirements and would protect the frontline workers who were carrying out COVID tests in places like hospital, airports, hotels, and beyond.
So, we assembled an incredible team of engineers, designers, and medical experts to quickly scale up and develop our testing pods — and they were a tremendous success — we had outposts across university campuses and clinics/hospitals across Canada and the U.S, including Denver University, Vancouver International Airport, long-term care homes in Manitoba and even in sports venues, construction sites and healthcare clinics.
Ever since, we have continued to pivot and expand our product offerings to include different Covid-19 testing options, contact tracing solutions, and now the first-of-its-kind all-inclusive health and travel concierge service, bundled with COVID-19 tests, that supports people so they can get back to doing what matters.
My thoughts on this pandemic are that its effects are here to stay. In the same way that the tragic events of 9/11 re-defined how we travel and increased airport security worldwide, this pandemic is going to have an ever-lasting impact on travel and health regulations that will be felt worldwide.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Since making the decision to begin working on Citizen Care Health Solutions, I’ve continued to learn something new every day. This pandemic was unprecedented and we, like the rest of the world, found ourselves having to figure out how to respond to such an outbreak and how to prevent the spread and keep our communities safe. For once, it really felt like the world was on the same page and shared the same concern. I think the most interesting thing is that because of the major switch to working from home and virtually, it’s truly opened up new connections that I would never have made before.
Through Citizen Care, I’ve fostered new connections with leading experts in Europe, Latin America, and Asia — and it’s incredible to see that we’re all collaborating towards the same goal. That, coupled with the fact that we have never met most of those individuals in person, is what makes this such an interesting time. If there’s one positive to have come out of the pandemic (in addition to being able to spend added time with family), it’s how technology has enabled us to create global connections and eliminate barriers that would’ve previously prevented like-minded interactions.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
My experience has been pretty serious since the start of this business, but I will say that despite being knee-deep in running an organization that is dedicated to combating COVID-19… I have sometimes found myself leaving my car or house without my mask! It’s in those moments that I realize that I haven’t become fully accustomed to the new way of doing things.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”? Can you share a story about that?
As an entrepreneur in a line of work that is so demanding and competitive, I’ve found myself working long hours, 7 days a week, without even realizing it. My advice would be to make a conscious decision and be disciplined to ‘shut off’ — even though you’re working from home, you need to draw the line between work time and family/personal time. Finding the right balance is key and you have to be really careful to not let work consume you.
I’ve seen people make the most of the work-from-home policy by working remotely from various destinations or holiday homes/cottages where they can maximize their off-time; and I’ve seen others on the other side of the spectrum, feeling really burned-out, anxious, and fatigued from their hectic work schedules and lifestyles.
Mental health issues are on the rise, globally — the pandemic has had really significant consequences on our mental wellbeing for many reasons, including being isolated and not socializing, but also being fearful of the unknown. The light at the end of the tunnel is that I think the pandemic has revolutionized healthcare, making it virtual and thus accessible to anyone, anywhere. The world needs to prepare for the consequences of the pandemic on our mental health, and I believe that making medical consultations accessible is a great first step. You may even see innovations from us in this space in the near future!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
As the saying goes, it takes a village! I wouldn’t say there was one particular person who helped propel this business forward, because it really has been a team effort. Every single person — from nurses supervising virtual tests, to our web designer — has played an important role and is part of our success story. Building a successful business is like building Lego towers, you need all the parts in place, working cohesively to keep it together!
Thanks to technology and virtual meeting spaces, we have been able to work with professionals and industry leaders across continents and learn from their expertise and know-how. The limitations that in-person working environments had were suddenly eliminated and that made us realize just how limitless these opportunities are!
Thank you for that. Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers the innovations that you are bringing to the travel and hospitality industries?
It is my opinion that travel will never be the same. In order for the travel and hospitality industry to recover from the devastation and financial repercussions of the pandemic, they must adapt to new ways of doing things. What we’re going to see industry-wide is a reconfiguration of how travelers book, plan, and decide on their destinations.
For example, travelers will have to factor in COVID-19 testing options and prices, quarantine restrictions (depending on their destination), keep up to date with the validity of their vaccinations and consider their personal safety before traveling for vacations or business trips going forward. This has become the ‘new normal’ of travel.
What our latest product, Citizen Care BOOST ™ brings to the table is access to your own customized support system to eliminate the challenges of navigating pandemic travel. So, travelers have the added confidence that their tests will be booked and delivered to their doorstep; they will have lab-certified results that they can present to the relevant authorities; they have a concierge service ready to respond to medical and travel questions for the entire duration of their trip. So, if they get sick while traveling, they need to reschedule their flight, or even if they come in contact with a COVID-19 positive individual, the BOOST ™ Customer Care team can support them.
We believe this is an important opportunity to help support both the health and wellness of travelers going forward, while also an opportunity for industry professionals — from cruise ship directors to travel agents to airline executives and hoteliers — to help keep people safer during their journeys.
Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing this innovation?
We want Citizen Care Health Solutions to be a gold seal standard — when people choose our service, they feel comfortable and confident to travel or mingle during a time of uncertainty. So, whether it’s through our virtual testing service or the implementation of our testing pods for a large conference or clinic, we want people to be able to feel that sigh of relief knowing that they are in good hands with us.
How do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?
The pandemic has completely disrupted the status quo, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Whether it’s giving employees the option to work remotely while traveling, or making virtual health consultations the norm — we’re in for a rapid transformation of services, especially in the travel industry. Service providers that can do things online are going to be in high demand because people don’t have the time and they prefer, unless absolutely necessary, to receive virtual support.
I also believe that the future is all about customized experiences and using artificial intelligence to meet the needs of customers, clients, patients, and so on. And, that’s where we really shine because we are bringing that customized element — almost like having your own concierge — via our BOOST ™ service for travel.
As you know, COVID19 changed the world as we know it. Can you share 5 examples of how travel and hospitality companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers will prefer to travel?
Yes, here are 5 ways COVID-19 has changed the world of travel and hospitality:
Vaccine passports will be a new form of identification that will be required to check-in at hotels, board airplanes, attend large conferences and concerts, and so forth. Large corporations are working to configure a passport that will be universally accepted and includes details on vaccinations, as well as an expiration date to ensure validity.
COVID-19 testing stations are going to be a requirement, especially for hotels looking to resume conferences and large gatherings. Therefore, we can expect to see a lot more COVID-19 tracking services in hotels.
COVID-19 testing and vaccine tracking are going hand-in-hand with leisurely and business travel. Therefore, airlines, cruise ships, and major holiday destinations/tourist attractions will need to have effective mechanisms in place to track COVID-19 and to ensure they have the policy to inform anyone who may have come into contact with the virus.
New technology to track and streamline experiences when checking in, be it at the airport or at a concert, will soon come into place. Nobody likes waiting long hours to get a test result back, so new systems will need to be integrated to speed up the process but also ensure that the results are lab-certified and not fabricated.
There’s a lot of business opportunities for travel agents and experts who can plan and book trips that include all the COVID-19 requirements, such as self-administered or in-person tests, safe transportation to locations, and quarantine-friendly hotels or Airbnbs.
You are a “travel insider”. How would you describe your “perfect vacation experience”?
My perfect vacation experience would be one that is safe and sanitary, and obviously in a beautiful location. Our family enjoys trips to Hawaii — we love lounging on the beautiful beaches of Maui where produce is fresh and the landscape is absolutely stunning. I’ve also been so impressed by how well Hawaii’s tourism industry responded to the pandemic and put measures in place that make travelers feel safe and comfortable throughout their visit.
We are also big fans of cruising. From a Disney-themed cruise to a European or Alaskan cruise, we’ve done it all. It amazes me that you can go to sleep in one place and wake up in a completely different part of the world the next day. It also brings me comfort knowing that I will be having a great time while being in a place that is safe for my family.
Travel is not always about escaping, but about connecting. Have you made efforts to cultivate a more wellness-driven experience? We’d love to hear about it.
Our business model is centered around eliminating the stress and hurdles associated with travel by giving travelers access to a first-of-its-kind support system — our Citizen Care BOOST ™ service — that can respond to and resolve logistical and medical issues. We understand how valuable travel is, especially nowadays, and we want to ensure that travelers are spending their time connecting with others, rather than worrying about travel requirements and government policies during their vacation time. Our goal is really to ensure that people are getting back to doing the things they love to do and are able to travel safely and more confidently.
Can you share with our readers how you have used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Our entire company was created with the goal of helping to restore a sense of normalcy in our lives. The services we offer — be it contact tracing or COVID-19 testing and health and travel support — are all provided with the intention to support companies and individuals and to protect frontline workers. We hope to continue supporting a safe transition back to normal operations to become a trusted service for travelers and business owners alike.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I think there’s a critical need for virtual mental health services — the world has never needed it more, and we’ve never been more prepared to offer it. What amazes me is that with the click of a button, you can now get medical consultations from top experts, no matter where they might be in the world. There’s also a lot of remote communities that could benefit from such services and that’s something I would love to be a part of.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can visit our website at https://www.citizencarehealth.com, and on social media via Twitter @CitizenPod and LinkedIn.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!