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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.
Very much, because I'm doing it my whole life, formerly employed youth tourism 7 years and now 23 years have my own agency. (June, 2020)
For me tourism means exploring new countries and places. Personally I don't refer to myself as a tourist when im going to other places. I would say im more like a visitor. I feel like being a tourist has some kind of a bad stigma. I know how it feels if you see more tourists in your city than locals. Thats why I try to not to behave as a tourist when im on vacation. Tourism also plays a big role in the creation and conservation of jobs. So in some way it also feels like a secure and steady income source for a lot of people. (September, 2020)
Challenges I faced had a lot to do with the closing of borders and travel restrictions. It was not possible to travel to other countries even if it feels like your own. For me there was no border between Bavaria and Austria and it didn't feel any different being in Germany. Suddenly there was a border and it was not possible to go hiking anymore where you always went. Also going to your own flat in Italy was not possible anymore. It felt like somebody locked you out of your own apartment. (September, 2020)
Currently, it is difficult because there are no tourists. That means no income for our accommodation providers and consequently no tourist tax for us. No one knows how long the quarantine in different countries will last and no one knows how much money we will get throughout this year. (April, 2020)
I believe tourist destinations should do their best to create virtual (hopefully paid) experiences of what their destination is all about, filmed in both VR and normal video. This could allow people at home to get a taste of actually visiting the tourist destination such as Disneyland, Cozumel, or Yosemite. Providing a tour would also hopefully incentivize people to visit the destination once this all blows over. (April, 2020)
I work in the hotel management in a luxury castle. There we can provide our guests the maximum comfort with a 8 ha garden (and we only have 25 rooms/suits) so it is perfect for guests, who want a short break from there everyday life, who wants to relaxe, who wants to enjoy the nature.
So nowadays it is necessary to provide your guests everything they want. That they leave your hotel with a smile. (October, 2020)
We would need to know more predicitons on the life after. We would need succesfull (guerilla) promotion to (new) markets. (April, 2020)
https://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2020/03/04/best-practices-for-hosting-a-digital-event/ (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 saw a weird travel website talking about travel to countries that didn't have the coronavirus. All the more reason to NOT go there, I would say. In no time the virus would be there and those countries would soon also go through all the troubles and deaths. (May, 2020)