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
VIPs saying we're all in this together to promote themselves. (April, 2020)
Student
Germany
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
Passion and exploring the life from all angles. (November, 2020)
sustainable tourism advocate
Italy
CHALLENGES
Cash-flow due to plummeting demand due to global market crash, border restrictions and public health fears. (April, 2020)
Tourism business representative
Canada
CONCERNS
My biggest concern is how some people handle this whole pandemic. Sorry to say that but I think it is pathetic that there are people out there, who are seriously comparing our situation now with the situation people had to face during the World War two. Our situation nowadays is nothing compared to the situation back then. Now the world has to fight a virus, back then they had to fight man against man. I´m quite sure, that none of us can even imagine how horrible this time was and I´m quite sure that none of us wants to know. If I´m being honest a comparison like this is embarrassing and very disrespectful. (December, 2020)
Student
Austria
IDEAS
Holidays should be repositioned as a big deal, something meaningful and highly valued and also carefully planned with consideration for environmental ressources and human concerns. We would think more about what we really want for our money. Most people buy far too many things they don’t need, including myself! (May, 2020)
Researcher, academic
France
I CAN OFFER
I can speak about my experiences in tennis coaching and mountainbike guiding while the crisis. All the points you have to note before starting the training and how you have to handle the customers. (October, 2020)
Student
Austria
I NEED
As I do understand that understanding topics we take them at school is important, we should take this opportunity for the whole tourism sector to step together and create a good set of actions. As there would be actions taken from an actions such as recommended, we would have an opportunity to change an educating system as well, as we all know, it needs an upgrade. Students (from what we talk to each other) would like to be present at resolving actual current problems more, as some teachers already are taking these actions (for example giving students to write, think and evolve solutions to the actual problems happening in present time). (April, 2020)
Tourism employee
Slovenia
SOLUTIONS
Restrict AirBnb accommodations to be only available in high season months, limit the maximum commisson for OTA like Booking.com and Expedia. (April, 2020)
Tourism or convention office, event organizer
Slovenia
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
It's been about 30 years since I started this job. I have experienced the collapse of the Internet bubble, the Lehman shock, the Great East Japan Earthquake, and so on. Marketing techniques such as sales measures, cost control, and attracting customers during these times are the know-how of tourism that cannot be learned in normal times. (June, 2020)
