GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES FOR RECOVERY OF TOURISM

Over the course of the past two weeks there have been numerous exceptionally interesting posts from readers of these blogs. they are located in the ‘comments boxes’ at the end of each blog. So I encourage you to scroll down and read these comments. As of today, this blog has had 1,100 unique visitors from almost 50 countries. This means that we are now able to welcome comments flowing in from around the world.

In addition, I have taken the opportunity to share with you some of the key messages from the Hospitality Tomorrow virtual global conference of 7th April, 2020.

A SUMMARY OF THE KEY MESSAGES FROM THE HOSPITALITY TOMORROW: A GLOBAL VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

7TH APRIL 2020

Organised by Benchmark Events and attracting 5,343 ‘delegates’ from 128 countries and gathering 1.92m twitter impressions (www.hospitalitytowmorrow.com; #hospitalitytomorrow)

This summary has been prepared by Alastair Dobson, businessman and Director of Visit Arran DMO (www.visitarran.com) from the Isle of Arran, Scotland; Tim O’Donoghue, Founder and CEO, The Riverwind Foundation (www.sustainabledestination.org) from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA; and, Professor Terry Stevens, (terry@stevensassoc.co.uk) Founder and MD, Stevens & Associates (www.tourism-futures.com) from Wales.

During the course of this six-hour virtual conference the three of us listened carefully to the comments made by the speakers and panellists. We monitored the twitter comments that flowed through the day and the questions raised by participants. Although all the sessions and the various presentations will be made available on-line by the organizer, we thought it would be helpful if we compiled a schedule of the key messages that we took from the day. A full copy of our notes covering every session can be requested from terry@stevensassoc.co.uk. If we have misinterpreted the sentiments or the facts presented on the day, we apologise. Our intention is to reflect the main points and to share them with a wider audience. It goes without saying that the reader should access the on-line original presentations to secure what was actually said at the time.

OUR HEADLINE TAKEAWAYS

·         What we must do is to harness this crisis to create a better world

·         There will be a new normal of doing things ‘right’

·         Stronger global leadership is needed

·         2009 Oxford Economics and then Bill Gates in TED talk in 2015 predicted this pandemic – we need to listen and get better prepared for the future

·         At best 2020 will be 30% of 2019 in terms of visitor numbers and associated revenue

·         Will this episode mean that tourism will be taken seriously in the future?

·         In industry must become very reactive, dynamic and agile in the future

·         International travel will re-emerge slowly, salvation will be found in domestic travel

·         Leisure travel pricing that has a safe, quarantined package may be at a premium

·         Economic recovery will be affected by the size of internal markets (e.g., China has a large internal market)

·         Destination management will be the key to success – it is not about destination marketing

·         Destination health system performance will impact visitor numbers – the carrying capacity of a destination will now need to address the local health care system capabilities

·         Wellness sabbaticals and the return of the social holiday and holidays on prescription to return

·         Restaurant capacity will be affected by social distancing standards and have rippling effect on the overall destination carrying capacity

·         Independent lodging properties are more vulnerable than chains, especially those that weren’t on strong financial footing to begin with

·         For the near term, save on sales and marketing funds and focusing on investment money

·          Some countries / destinations are relaxing environmental regulations to help economic recovery (including the USA)

·         Permanent Effects:  Less business travel than leisure travel since business will be more digitally driven. That means group business travel that can be the bread and butter for some hotels will be impacted. 

·         Until we get global vaccines there won’t be a return to normal – this could take 18 months

·         Practical measures will prevail – from toilets outside of restaurants, temperature testing before entry, social distancing inside and re-thinking service standards

·         New habits, new trends and new realities – ‘The crystal ball is very foggy – we will return to a new normal but where and when will vary’

·         Maybe time to think more about the software of tourism (people) than the hardware.

The Coloseum, Rome by Terry Stevens