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.
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
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
Tourism for me means to travel and see new places in the first place. Whether I’m only visiting a nice village or a city in Austria for a couple of days or take a trip around the world for a longer time, tourism is a way to explore. The other big part of tourism is to get to know new people, new cultures and explore different styles of living. Since I myself am a huge fan of travelling and experience as much as possible, tourism is a key thing in my life and hopefully will never get lost in those times. (October, 2020)
Student
Austria
CHALLENGES
A virtual meeting/webinar is the future trend for the convention/conference business. Event organizers may suffer revenue loss as these days "on-the-spot" meetings are not as popular as they were in the past. (April, 2020)
Tourism or convention office, event organizer
United States
CONCERNS
The Austrian economy cannot cope with another lockdown, and tourism in particular. If winter tourism fails to appear, many hotels will not survive. Travel abroad is associated with risks because of Covid-19. (June, 2020)
Student
Austria
IDEAS
I would like to think that the C19 will be a change for the overall economic, environmental and social reset. As a humanity, we have shown that, in spite of the quest for profit, we are willing to sacrifice economy to save lives. Hopefully, we might realize that the long time live-saving will be to invest in building better societies and taking care of each other and the planet. Tourism can be one of the tools that we use to this end. However, if the pandemic is over, if there is no second wave and if we recover relatively quickly, I am afraid that the opportunity for 'reset' will be lost. (May, 2020)
Researcher, academic
Croatia
I CAN OFFER
During this time, our company is continuing to do a little "catch-up" and behind the scenes work. This includes spicing up our website (and the property's websites) to attract guests for after quarantine and freshening up our restaurants' menus. Corporate employees are also brain-storming special deals and offers for after quarantine as well. (April, 2020)
Tourism employee
United States
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
A very cool best practice I found is placed in Alta Badia. In this summer every hut and restaurant in the mountains is offering the possibility to take away the lunch in a picnic basket. With this service, you don't have to sit down on a table but you can join your meal on a meadow. (June, 2020)
Student
Italy
EXPLOITATION
Assistance with tourist vouchers only to accommodation facility. Travel agencies were largely excluded because hoteliers do not confirm shared reservations. (July, 2020)
Tourism employee
Slovenia
OTHER / SPOTTED
I support the initiative, but I am afraid we cannot save tourism until the virus spreads. (August, 2020)
