The 2020 pandemic and previous years’ overtourism issues showed us both the benefits, the relevance, and the limits of the tourism, hospitality and leisure industries for society. We cannot foresee the future, but we can listen to challenges and start developing solutions.
So far we have received more than 900 responses in which these questions have been discussed::
How should we IMAGINE tourism now that we have an opportunity to reset the way we do business?
Which CHANGES would you like to see? If any?
What are your CHALLENGES and CONCERNS?
What are your IDEAS and SOLUTIONS to make it through the pandemic AND into a sustainable and innovative future of tourism?
In the name of the global tourism family, many thanks to every single one of you for the inspiring feedback. Your replies are summarized in the sections below.
Don't forget to share YOUR insights (for the first time or again, with new observations):
The 10 quotes below are updated every few minutes and elephant word-clouds are recalculated regularly based on your new survey entries. You have to refresh the page or revisit us every so often to see the changed content.
IDEAS
Finding unknown path and parts of solitude, detoxing etc. has been an emerging trend for the last couple of years and I do believe this is a way we could be able to deal with current situation. Slovenia still has lots of unpopulated and secluded areas that could be a great resource to start working on secluded and off the grid holiday packages that are more connected with local experiences and general well being. I believe back to nature should be one of our primary focus during the upcoming tourism season and creating a bond between lesser people that includes spiritual, sport, culture and creative ways of spending time outdoors. We always considered outdoors as being only a spiritual and sports related free time activities, but culture should start being one of the vocal points that should be included in this spectrum now. (March, 2020)
Tourism business representative
Slovenia
Explore #TourismFromZero perspectives
Different perspectives on the selected topic: ALL
Tourism business representative
Bosnia Herzegovina
Tourist
Singapore
Tourism business representative
Slovakia
#From Instagram
TOURISM MEANS
Once someone said that travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer, and I couldn’t agree more. Because, to me, travel means to live fully, to accept others, to learn in every area you can and to allow the world to shape you into the best person you can truly be. (April, 2020)
Student
Bosnia Herzegovina
CHALLENGES
After COVID-19, we will face challenges in rebuilding trust within our markets that it will be safe to travel again. There might also come other travel trends that do not pay our region the attention. Companies will be economically weaker and might not be able to develop their service and competence, and we might loose the momentum we had where companies were eager to work with sustainability. Many companies might drop prices and stop caring about which clients they get, as long as they get clients. This can be challenging for the general quality level of tourism business in our region. Higher unemployment can lead to emigration from our region, with the result that it will be challenging for the local places to attract new people and for companies to find the right competence. There might be less willingness to contribute to development and marketing of tourism from the public government's side, as they might loose faith in tourism. (May, 2020)
Tourism or convention office, event organizer
Norway
CONCERNS
I do worry about small businesses and tour guides who are already dormant during the winter months and are waiting for the summer season to accumulate their earnings, just that this summer likely won't come. But at the macro level, tourism should return to its old path. How long it will take is difficult to predict. What I can predict, however, is that, like anything, this crisis will bring some changes. There will now be a lot of room for innovation in current work processes. (April, 2020)
Student
Slovenia
IDEAS
I like the idea of starting a very much different way of tourism after this and a lot of other things. (April, 2020)
Student
Slovenia
I CAN OFFER
I do not have any resources at the moment, as I do not see adequate resources in this situation to save tourism. (July, 2020)
Tourism employee
Slovenia
I NEED
We need people who will not be afraid to travel. People who will want to travel. Abolition of travel restrictions. (August, 2020)
Tourism employee
Slovenia
SOLUTIONS
Regarding the tourism in Austria I think the best thing we can do as locals is to support the Austrian economic system. This starts with buying local products, spending "holiday" in Austria, visiting smaller restaurants or supporting smaller companies that fight to survive. (October, 2020)
Student
Austria
EXPLOITATION
Not do much an exploitation as such, but discounting I see amongst hotels in Japan will not save the industry as it causes the Prisoner's Dilemma. Everyone could suffer as a result. (April, 2020)
Student
Japan
OTHER / SPOTTED
Thank you that you are giving us the possibility to share our own ideas with the world. (November, 2020)
