TOURISM MEANS

For me, tourism has just as much to do with locality as with business. I believe that we need to discuss tourism not only from a touristic point of view, but rather from a perspective where local businesses, infrastructure, cultural institutions and the local societies in total is taken into consideration as the foundation for all tourism. Since tourism affects all parts of a local community, tourism development should work bottom-up, where locals are involved to ensure that development follows up on the locals values and needs for their own society. With this approach, tourism can add to sustainable growth and welfare, contribute to increased cultural understanding and respect and be a part of the environmental solutions. (May, 2020)

Tourism or convention office, event organizer

Norway

CHALLENGES

I love my home country Austria and all the peculiarities, but I also miss going abroad and have some time to relax far away from the everyday stress. But the biggest challenge is to stay calm and sit in the home office and there is nothing you can do against the virus. But all after all that's only complaining on a high comfort level. I should be happy that all of my family members are healthy and nobody lost the job or anything like that. (December, 2020)

Student

Austria

CONCERNS

I am not concerned about tourism in general. I do however 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, which likely will not be possible this year. They are in great danger of going out of business, but overall at the macro level, tourism should return to its old path. How long this will take is extremely difficult to predict. A week ago, the WTO predicted a 3 % to 4% drop in global travel, yet today we are already at a 30% drop. Jobs are definitely at risk. What I can say with confidence is that this crisis will bring some changes. There will now be a lot of room for innovation and adaptation of current work processes. I do not think tourism will die, but it will evolve. (April, 2020)

Student

Slovenia

IDEAS

1) Get connected - even with "enemies" - in your destination. The weakest determines the faith of all players of a destination in a pandemic situation.

2) Get digital - digitalization helps to make tourism resilient.

3) Get human - do not focus on profit, focus on customers.

4) Create experiences instead of money traps. (May, 2020)

Researcher, academic

Germany

I CAN OFFER

Social (online) support! As mentioned previously, providing social interaction through technology and media platforms greatly helps and keeps everyones mind busy while providing social interaction to ease the lockdown induced loneliness. I would also be able to provide the resource of shopping for the elderly in my community, which I have done twice this previous month, in order to allow the elderly to stay home and get safely delivered food and not have to possible expose themselves to the virus. Anything we can do to help everyone struggling to get through this time. (April, 2020)

Student

United States

I NEED

State aid. (August, 2020)

Tourism employee

Slovenia

SOLUTIONS

Rather than always relying on trustful recources and trying to keep cool in such times I don’t have more solutions to offer. Life is always a tough place and I admire all the people who still try their best in those times. I think everyone of us should try to make the best of their lifes whether circumstances are good or bad. Only this way, we can move forward. (October, 2020)

Student

Austria

EXPLOITATION

Travel companies not allowing for partial or full refunds. It is not as if people wanted to cancel their travel and we cannot deter people from traveling in the future by souring their present experiences. (March, 2020)

Student

United States

OTHER / SPOTTED

I am really curios about how the Covid-19 pandemic will change our world and our society. I think we can learn a lot of things from the crisis and reorient new. But I am also concerned about how the world will change and which developments are going to happen in the future. I hope people think careful and learn from the crisis. (June, 2020)

Student

Austria