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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::
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.
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)
Tourism service activities a small part of our offer, but are a nice complement to our primary activity (cheesmaking). (May, 2020)
Tourism is an extremely sensitive activity, which is affected by various phenomena: natural disasters, weather influences, unfavorable political situations, religious tensions, pandemics, epidemics. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly adapt in this industry, which is easier in smaller tourism companies. (August, 2020)
The unemployment rate is extremely high during the COVID-19 period. This industry may prefer employees with decades of practical experience instead of graduates with a high-level educational background, let alone in the pandemic period. Such a phenomenon arouses people's bias in working in this industry - job discrimination existed - In many Asian countries, parents won't suggest their kids work for a hotel (not a "decent" job + low salaries/wages) comparing to studying engineer/medicine/CS, etc. (April, 2020)
After crisis I want to invest more in local tourism, Slovenian tourism and help our people as much as I can. I will still go and visit destinations out of the country but I will for a change also go somewhere in Slovenia that I have never been yet. #supportlocal (April, 2020)
As a tourism student, I can currently contribute to the renovation of tourism by helping with various tourism-related projects where I feel I can contribute. (April, 2020)
I think our company needs a good and positive employee force, including maintaining good HR practices and encouragement to give employees. Personally, the company also needs a plan from our boss going forward (as hard and uncertain as the world is making that on him). (April, 2020)
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)
https://www.ft.com/content/19d90308-6858-11ea-a3c9-1fe6fedcca75 - link to the article written by Yuval Noah Harari that I find curious, as it opens many cotroversial questions and dilemas for the future - as the author states amongst other emphases - a shift from “over the skin” to “under the skin” surveillance, with the use od biometric data. (April, 2020)
I am really curios about how the Covid-19 pandemic will change our world and our society. I think we can learn a lot of things from the crisis and reorient new. But I am also concerned about how the world will change and which developments are going to happen in the future. I hope people think careful and learn from the crisis. (June, 2020)