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.
OTHER / SPOTTED
Whilst this is major setback for tourism as we know it and many businesses will suffer as a result, I at least hope this will present an opportunity for the industry to change for the better. A more sustainable approach to tourism is needed, perhaps this will kick start it. (May, 2020)
Tourism business representative
United Kingdom
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
A way to grow, explore, learn. A way to observe the ways others do things or on the other hand why or what is different and why. It has always been the best means of growth for me. (April, 2020)
Tourist
Slovenia
CHALLENGES
We lost about one month of our most busy season, thats a huge lost of money. For a small and pretty new business there is no savings, we did a big investment last summer and then we really needed the season to go on as planned. Our biggest challenge right now is to survive. In this strange situation we don´t know anything, will there be a summer season with tourists? How will the next winter be? How are we gonna plan? Do we need to sell away a lot of eqipment to lower our costs and then maybe don´t have enough capacity for next winter? To not know when this will end is the worst part. (April, 2020)
Tourism business representative
Sweden
CONCERNS
The recovery from coronavirus will see those who are not committed to sustainability say we have to postpone such concerns and focus on growth.
Those who are committed to sustainability risk believing too greatly that 'this is our moment', and not challenging our own assumptions enough. (April, 2020)
Inventor, consultant
France
IDEAS
After all this is over I wish there could be some type of travel focused event that involves getting people together to share their COVID-19 experiences and stories so that we can not only return to normal but come out of it as a better people and society collectively. I'm hoping that this will help open peoples eyes about how we need to change as a society and just how far we have truly strayed from our humanity. (March, 2020)
Student
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
Take care of your employees, customers, and business partners, foster an atmosphere of trust and use the time to foster a growth mindset as well as offer (cross-)trainings, webinars, explore ideas of your employees (May, 2020)
Tourism business representative
Germany
EXPLOITATION
It´s sad that there are so many cheaters who just want to get all the money which is spend by the state to help the little enterprises to survive the crisis, so that those who really need the money, don´t have any chance to work against their problems ... (June, 2020)
Student
Germany
OTHER / SPOTTED
It is my opinion, that now we have time to prepare fresh trip ideas and new routes, for ourselves or for others, if we work in a travel agency and so when all this is over, we will be able to offer something new, innovative and different to tourists. (March, 2020)
