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.
I NEED
It would be nice to hear more ideas and support from professors at my institution as well as other institutions that are leaders in hospitality/tourism and/or business in how to react in these times (i.e. Cornell, HBS, Michigan State, etc.). (April, 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
Income from tourists. (December, 2020)
Student
Slovakia
CHALLENGES
[Professor] To prepare my students for a post-COVID-19 world. (May, 2020)
Researcher, academic
Germany
CONCERNS
I am concerned about the longevity of the crisis. I doubt the agency has enough financial reserves. I'm afraid the company will go bankrupt. (August, 2020)
Tourism employee
Slovenia
IDEAS
This virus has made it very difficult to come up with solutions to this problem when it comes to being a tourist. People don't show symptoms for up to 2 weeks and many people can be asymptomatic. Something I actually heard the other day was that studies are being done that have shown that the spread of the virus is much lower during outdoor events. For example soccer games. I can attest to this because my dad and I went to 2 soccer games during the outbreak and we did not get the virus. So an interesting idea would make public transportation open-air somehow. This would allow people to get around without being stuck inside a vehicle where this virus can run rampant. Outdoor events can also be reopened with maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of the number of people to allow for them to social distance a little while being at this outdoor event. This would allow for tourists to go to places and do some things involved in that culture while slowing the spread of the virus. (April, 2020)
Tourist
United States
I CAN OFFER
Relationships with Japanese art-tourism practitioners.
Networking to Japanese service researchers.
Collaborative (virtual/ real) place with industrial association people. (June, 2020)
Researcher, academic
Japan
I NEED
Another problem I see in this time is, that students are overwhelmed with work from home, which mainly consists of googling topics on the internet and describe them as i think does not fully take advantage of knowledge and ideas of students at all. (April, 2020)
Tourism employee
Slovenia
SOLUTIONS
Offering alternative future dates later this year and then next year instead of automatically accepting a cancellation. (May, 2020)
Tourism or convention office, event organizer
United Kingdom
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
How tourism recovered from different disasters through history? (April, 2020)
