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.
SOLUTIONS
Everyone can show everyone that renunciation is possible and necessary in this situation. Meanwhile, you can put your money into small businesses to keep the economy running, even if it is only for one take away dinner. (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
Tourism is the act of exploring the world or parts of it to gain a better understand of culture, history, and way of life of other people, as well as to experience natural environments different from where we live. (April, 2020)
Tourist
United States
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
People and the industry focusing too much on the problem and ignoring the chances for solutions. (May, 2020)
Researcher, academic
Germany
IDEAS
Many beautiful and culturally rich countries aren't given this kind of attention and are completely ignored by tourists. They can be visited safely and offer unique landscapes and experiences. In Djibouti, visitors can dive with Whale Sharks, while in Central African Republic, visitors can experience the African jungle and meet the native tribes who call the region home. Sao Tome & Principe has beaches that rival the popular spots in the Caribbean, while the mountains of Tajikistan are far more breathtaking than the far more popular (and over-visited) Swiss Alps. There should be a collective effort by travel influencers, media, and anyone in the industry to promote these destinations after Covid-19. We need to let the popular Instagram-famous destinations take a break to recover and we can revisit them in the future. (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
COVID-19 is causing a spike in student questions about careers. I need advices via a online platform where students and I are able to ask questions of people with experience in particular fields. (October, 2020)
Student
Austria
SOLUTIONS
Moving forward, I believe all hospitality companies from the executives to the property GM should have a detailed plan on how to adapt their businesses during pandemics. This will not be the last time we face a problem like this. (March, 2020)
Student
United States
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
I think that the fact tourism is highly affected is not that big of the problem. Yes it’s true that people won’t travel during the epidemic, but when everything is over, people will travel again, they won’t just stop. Maybe this is a great chance for everybody to see how much we all can do to help restore Earth, not just in tourism, but in the whole industry sector. (March, 2020)
