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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.
Not specifically, but it's crucial to use the right psychological procedures (right words, slogans, music, messages) in marketing purposes. The goal of that would be managing crowds of people (tourists) in order to diminish their anxiety, fear of other people and travelling around. (April, 2020)
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)
Most people pay lip service to sustainable tourism. There is too much focus on the 'cost' of sustainability, and not enough on the cost of inaction. (April, 2020)
I'm worried about losing my job - some co-workers have already been fired, some are still at home waiting for work.
The financial crisis that awaits us at the end of the pandemic and which will certainly have a negative impact on international travel. (September, 2020)
In one of the President's COVID-19 Press Conferences, Trump had thrown around the idea of businesses being able to fully deduct dining and food expenses. I believe this could be an interesting idea to pursue. Currently, dining and food expenses incurred by businesses can be deducted by 50% as long as they meet certain requirements (cannot be overly extravagant, etc.). If this deductible percentage was increased, it could help to jump start the recovery of the hospitality and tourism industry by incentivizing business meals and group business. A similar case can be made for travel expenses.
Of course, there are ethical implications associated with potential to abuse the system which will need to be weighed. I recommend the spending must meet the current deduction requirements or possibly impose a spending ceiling.
Resources:
https://www.thetaxadviser.com/issues/2020/jan/business-meal-expense-deduction-tcja.html
https://markjkohler.com/writing-off-dining-and-food-expenses/ (April, 2020)
My joy at work in the tourism industry. (June, 2020)
Advocacy and research to examine the extend to which local operators are good for local economies and data mining to determine the degree of public funding going to non-local businesses and myriad of funding eligibility rules across the circumpolar world. Perhaps our jurisdiction could learn from others. (April, 2020)
All kinds of online stores. (June, 2020)
Some companies, especially in the medical and hygiene sector, have certainly been able to use the pandemic to their advantage. (October, 2020)
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)