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
Advocacy and research to examine the extend to which local operators are good for local economies and data mining to determine the degree of public funding going to non-local businesses and myriad of funding eligibility rules across the circumpolar world. Perhaps our jurisdiction could learn from others. (April, 2020)
Tourism business representative
Canada
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 means a lot to me because I have been working in it all my life. I have previously worked in youth tourism for seven years and have been running my own travel agency for the last 23 years. (July, 2020)
Tourism employee
Slovenia
CHALLENGES
Interacting with guests and other employees without social distancing efforts in place due to it being a workplace. It is physically impossible to check a guest in with being six feet away from them. Also, housekeepers need their list updated and need to be handed lists and other items. Common items like hand sanitizer seem to always go "missing" when placed into the lobby. Guests always steal the hand sanitizer bottles within the lobby, which is another major challenge we face with the shortage. (April, 2020)
Tourism employee
United States
CONCERNS
Restrictions may last for much longer than expected. (April, 2020)
Tourist
Italy
IDEAS
Each stakeholder will need to devise his own communication tactics. The key is to recognize when consumers will enter into the daydreaming about holidays phase. As long as the media is dominated by posts about the corona virus, consumers will find it difficult to get their thoughts set on holidays. So it is crucial that the situation is monitored daily, prepare a plan and activate it as we begin to arrive at (new) normality. (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
State aid. (August, 2020)
Tourism employee
Slovenia
SOLUTIONS
For the individual properties, it came down to providing refunds and vouchers for another stay to guests who had already booked for the next few months, as we know they won't be allowed to come stay due to state laws. As a company, we want to keep our employees safe and healthy as well, so telling the ones who can work to work from home. Keeping honest and open communication between the higher-ups and the employees about the status of the company, their working timeline, and honestly anything they have questions and concerns about. (April, 2020)
Tourism employee
United States
EXPLOITATION
Criminals phishing company details to claim subsidies entitled for small businesses in various states of Germany. (May, 2020)
Researcher, academic
Germany
OTHER / SPOTTED
We can not go back to normal after the covid19-crisis because before was a crisis too. Climate crisis should be handled like a bigger threat! (April, 2020)
