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Fact sheet: 2022 national travel and tourism strategy, office of public affairs.

The 2022 National Travel and Tourism Strategy was released on June 6, 2022, by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo on behalf of the Tourism Policy Council (TPC). The new strategy focuses the full efforts of the federal government to promote the United States as a premier destination grounded in the breadth and diversity of our communities, and to foster a sector that drives economic growth, creates good jobs, and bolsters conservation and sustainability. Drawing on engagement and capabilities from across the federal government, the strategy aims to support broad-based economic growth in travel and tourism across the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia.

The federal government will work to implement the strategy under the leadership of the TPC and in partnership with the private sector, aiming toward an ambitious five-year goal of increasing American jobs by attracting and welcoming 90 million international visitors, who we estimate will spend $279 billion, annually by 2027.

The new National Travel and Tourism Strategy supports growth and competitiveness for an industry that, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, generated $1.9 trillion in economic output and supported 9.5 million American jobs. Also, in 2019, nearly 80 million international travelers visited the United States and contributed nearly $240 billion to the U.S. economy, making the United States the global leader in revenue from international travel and tourism. As the top services export for the United States that year, travel and tourism generated a $53.4 billion trade surplus and supported 1 million jobs in the United States.

The strategy follows a four-point approach:

• Promoting the United States as a Travel Destination Goal : Leverage existing programs and assets to promote the United States to international visitors and broaden marketing efforts to encourage visitation to underserved communities.
• Facilitating Travel to and Within the United States Goal : Reduce barriers to trade in travel services and make it safer and more efficient for visitors to enter and travel within the United States.
• Ensuring Diverse, Inclusive, and Accessible Tourism Experiences Goal : Extend the benefits of travel and tourism by supporting the development of diverse tourism products, focusing on under-served communities and populations. Address the financial and workplace needs of travel and tourism businesses, supporting destination communities as they grow their tourism economies. Deliver world-class experiences and customer service at federal lands and waters that showcase the nation’s assets while protecting them for future generations.
• Fostering Resilient and Sustainable Travel and Tourism Goal : Reduce travel and tourism’s contributions to climate change and build a travel and tourism sector that is resilient to natural disasters, public health threats, and the impacts of climate change. Build a sustainable sector that integrates protecting natural resources, supporting the tourism economy, and ensuring equitable development.

Travel and Tourism Fast Facts

• The travel and tourism industry supported 9.5 million American jobs through $1.9 trillion of economic activity in 2019. In fact, 1 in every 20 jobs in the United States was either directly or indirectly supported by travel and tourism. These jobs can be found in industries like lodging, food services, arts, entertainment, recreation, transportation, and education.
• Travel and tourism was the top services export for the United States in 2019, generating a $53.4 billion trade surplus.
• The travel and tourism industry was one of the U.S. business sectors hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent health and travel restrictions, with travel exports decreasing nearly 65% from 2019 to 2020. 
• The decline in travel and tourism contributed heavily to unemployment; leisure and hospitality lost 8.2 million jobs between February and April 2020 alone, accounting for 37% of the decline in overall nonfarm employment during that time. 
• By 2021, the rollout of vaccines and lifting of international and domestic restrictions allowed travel and tourism to begin its recovery. International arrivals to the United States grew to 22.1 million in 2021, up from 19.2 million in 2020. Spending by international visitors also grew, reaching $81.0 billion, or 34 percent of 2019’s total.

More about the Tourism Policy Council and the 2022 National Travel and Tourism Strategy

Created by Congress and chaired by Secretary Raimondo, the Tourism Policy Council (TPC) is the interagency council charged with coordinating national policies and programs relating to travel and tourism. At the direction of Secretary Raimondo, the TPC created a new five-year strategy to focus U.S. government efforts in support of the travel and tourism sector which has been deeply and disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full strategy here

Towards resilience and sustainability: Travel and tourism development recovery

The travel and tourism sector is slowly beginning to recover. Image:  Unsplash/Eva Darron

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• The World Economic Forum has published its inaugural Travel and Tourism Development Index .
• It focuses on the growing role of sustainability and resilience in travel and tourism growth.
• Recovery for the sector is uneven and tourist arrivals in January 2022 were still 67% below 2019 levels, according to the World Tourism Organization.
• Here are some key findings from the index on how the sector can build back better.

In 2018, international tourism grew for the ninth consecutive year. Tourist arrivals reached 1.4 billion and generated $1.7 trillion in export earnings, according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Travel and tourism: post-pandemic

The picture looked very different two years later, as COVID-19 lockdowns hit the travel and tourism (T&T) sector hard. In 2020 alone, it faced losses of $4.5 trillion and 62 million jobs , impacting the living standards and well-being of communities across the globe.

While the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines and easing of restrictions means a recovery has now started, it’s proving gradual and uneven largely due to variations in vaccine distribution, and because of Omicron and its BA.2 subvariant. And customers are not only being more cautious when it comes to health, but also around the impact of travel on the environment and local communities.

International tourist arrivals rose by 18 million in January 2022 compared with a year earlier. This equals the increase for the whole of 2021 from 2020, but January’s numbers were still 67% below the same month in 2019, according to the UNWTO.

The war in Ukraine has added to instability and economic disruption for the sector. Against this backdrop, the World Economic Forum’s inaugural Travel and Tourism Development Index reflects the growing role of sustainability and resilience in T&T growth, as well as the sector’s role in economic and social development more broadly.

The TTDI benchmarks and measures “the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of the T&T sector, which in turn contributes to the development of a country”. The TTDI is a direct evolution of the long-running Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), with the change reflecting the index’s increased coverage of T&T development concepts, including sustainability and resilience impact on T&T growth and is designed to highlight the sector’s role in broader economic and social development as well as the need for T&T stakeholder collaboration to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, bolster the recovery and deal with future challenges and risks. Some of the most notable framework and methodology differences between the TTCI and TTDI include the additions of new pillars, including Non-Leisure Resources, Socioeconomic Resilience and Conditions, and T&T Demand Pressure and Impact. Please see the Technical notes and methodology. section to learn more about the index and the differences between the TTCI and TTDI.

The Travel and Tourism Development Index 2021

The index covers 117 economies, which accounted for around 96% of the world’s direct T&T GDP in 2020. It measures the factors and policies that will enable sustainable and resilient development of the sector.

These include everything from business, safety and health conditions, to infrastructure and natural resources, environmental, socioeconomic and demand pressures.

“As the sector slowly recovers, it will be crucial that lessons are learned from recent and current crises and that steps are taken to embed long-term inclusivity, sustainability and resilience into the travel and tourism sector as it faces evolving challenges and risks,” says the publication, a collaboration between many of the sector’s stakeholders.

The index consists of five subindexes, 17 pillars and 112 individual indicators, distributed among the different pillars, as shown below.

On average, scores increased by just 0.1% between 2019 and 2021, reflecting the difficult situation facing the sector. Only 39 out of 117 economies covered by the index improved by more than 1.0%, while 27 declined by over 1.0%.

Nine of the top 10 scoring countries are high-income economies in Europe or Asia-Pacific. Japan tops the ranking, with the United States in second, followed by Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, the United Kingdom and Singapore. Italy completes the top 10, moving up from 12th in 2019.

Viet Nam experienced the greatest improvement in score, with a rise of 4.7% lifting it from 60th to 52nd on the overall index. Indonesia achieved the greatest improvement in rank, increasing its score by 3.4% to climb from 44th to 32nd, while Saudi Arabia achieved the second greatest improvement in rank, moving up to 33rd from 43rd as its score rose by 2.3%.

Rebuilding travel and tourism for a sustainable and resilient future

Here are some of the key findings from the publication:

1. The need for travel and tourism development has never been greater

The sector is a major driver of economic development, global connectivity and the livelihood of some of the populations and businesses most vulnerable to, and hard hit by, the pandemic. In 2019, T&T’s direct, indirect and induced GDP accounted for about 10% of global GDP . For many emerging economies, T&T is a major source of export revenue, foreign exchange earnings and investment. Research has shown that T&T growth can support social progress and create opportunities and well-being for communities, so supporting travel and tourism development and recovery will be critical.

2. Shifting demand dynamics have created opportunities and a need for adaptation

In the shorter term, challenges such as reduced capacity, geopolitical tensions and labour shortages are slowing recovery. However, opportunities have been created in markets such as domestic and nature-based tourism, the rise of digital nomads and “bleisure” travel – the addition of leisure activities to business travel. Many countries have provided incentives to boost domestic tourism. For example, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong SAR, China, have rolled out programmes that provide discounts, coupons and subsidies for domestic travel. The trends towards more rural and nature-based tourism offer an opportunity for less-developed economies to harness the benefits of travel and tourism given that the distribution and quality of natural assets are less tied to performance in economic development, with natural resources being one of the few pillars where non-high income economies typically outperform high-income countries. The travel and tourism sector stakeholders’ ability to adapt under these conditions highlights its capacity for adaptation and flexibility.

3. Development strategies can be employed to help the sector build back better

Amid the current challenges, shifting demand dynamics and future opportunities and risks, a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient travel and tourism sector can be – and needs to be – built, says the publication. But this calls for thoughtful and effective consideration. It also requires leveraging development drivers and strategies. This can be done by: restoring and accelerating international openness and consumer confidence through, for example, improved health and security; building favourable and inclusive labour, business and socioeconomic conditions; focusing more on environmental sustainability; strengthening the management of tourism demand and impact; and investing in digital technology.

A note on the methodology

Most of the dataset for the Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) is statistical data from international organizations, with the remainder based on survey data from the World Economic Forum’s annual Executive Opinion Survey, which is used to measure concepts that are qualitative in nature or for which internationally comparable statistics are not available for enough countries. The index is an update of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), but due to the altered methodology, framework and other differences, the 2021 TTDI should not be compared to the 2019 TTCI. To help address this, the 2019 results were recalculated using the new framework, methodology and indicators of the TTDI. Therefore, all comparisons in score and rank throughout this report are between the 2019 results and the 2021 results of the TTDI. Data for the TTDI 2021 was collected before the war in Ukraine.

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COVID-19 tourism spend recovery in numbers

1. Address traveler concerns

While post-COVID-19 tourism recovery will be primarily driven by the strength of the economic recovery, five key drivers are likely to impact the recovery trajectory (Exhibit 1). Managing those concerns is key to driving a turnaround in tourism.

2. The recovery could be slow

An optimistic recovery scenario, combining rapid virus containment and rebounding economies, will see recovery to 85 percent of 2019 volumes in by 2021 and a full recovery by 2023 (Exhibit 2). Under a pessimistic recovery scenario, 2021 levels can be as low as 60 percent of 2019, further postponing the recovery.

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3. domestic tourism will likely recover faster.

Domestic tourism will return to precrisis levels around one to two years earlier than outbound travel. Multiple factors drive this: fewer restrictions for travel within own country, more substitution options for nonair-based travel (such as cars and trains), anxiety, and a larger share of business travel. In addition, domestic travel is expected to recover faster than hotel as we see a substitution toward vacation rentals and friends and family in certain markets.

4. Recovery speeds will vary across markets

Impact will likely vary across countries, with fast recoverees supported by robust domestic0tourism sectors and high-quality networks of land transport (Exhibit 3).

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5. dependence on domestic travel and nonair travel will likely determine recovery.

Before the crisis, different markets had different dependencies on domestic tourism and air traffic (Exhibit 4). This structure drives the recovery speeds as cross-country restrictions and safety concerns are determining air traffic.

Structural and macroeconomic factors will continue to determine tourism recovery. Meanwhile, industry leaders can seek to improve their rate of recovery through a variety of measures including improving perception of air-travel safety, actively promoting domestic destinations, and ensuring government and insurance policies guarantee access to healthcare—even away from home.

Urs Binggeli is a senior knowledge expert in McKinsey’s Zurich office, Margaux Constantin is an associate partner in the Dubai office, and Eliav Pollack is a consultant in the Amsterdam office.

The authors wish to thank Celine Birkl and Steffen Kopke for their contributions to this article.

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Table of contents, introduction, section 1 theoretical, effects of covid-19 on tourism and hospitality: exploring the new normal.

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on tourism and hospitality. Motivation of the researchers in constructing the chapter was to logically alert the present-day and future world tourism and hospitality business leaders on how to respond to the disruptive forces attributed to deadly viral pandemics like that of COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose being to draw conclusions and identifying the research gaps. It is based on a structural analysis methodology to frame the categories of the major analysis in combination with scientific rigour to a broad and complex problem. Research results proved that the primary effects of COVID-19 pandemic on tourism and hospitality industry include technology disruption, globalisation problems and logistical inefficiencies. Implications to contemporary tourism and hospitality industry business leaders include bringing-in technologies, incubating survival plans of actions. The study results underscore the necessity of understanding effects of COVID-19 pandemic on tourism and hospitality so as to craft both proactive and reactive strategic stances. The research contributes to literature and theoretical novel introspections into the depth and breadth of how various tourism and hospitality industry metamorphoses can lead to navigation and survival in such COVID-19 pandemic environments.

Strategic Intent and Strategic Leadership: A Review Perspective for Post-COVID-19 Tourism and Hospitality Industry Recovery

It is beneficial to use strategic management to gain profound, long-term comprehension and learning in challenging topics such as change evaluation. Since the impact of COVID-19, norms changed, complexities developed and situational elements were identified that could be used to improve and manage operations. This change did not spare the tourism and hospitality industry; as a result, this industry is facing a crisis to recover from pandemics. Keeping this in mind, researchers struggle to investigate the phenomenon; quested advantages may be derived for rehabilitation. Strategic leadership perspective is one of them that can be used for more significant tourism industry benefits. Leaders are required to prepare strategies for developing technical abilities to increase the efficiency of their organisations. It must become necessary to have a strategic aim to change existing social and cultural values, religious standards and psychological attitudes under their vision. This chapter aims to apply the theory of change to manage the tourism and hospitality industry's recovery, focusing on strategic leadership's theoretical framework and strategic intent. The chapter includes a study of the literature to determine the effectiveness of strategic intent in the leadership of the tourism industry. In addition, this work debates about building a better and more comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence, contribute to and relate to strategic intention. This chapter draws several beneficial propositions for readers, academicians and practitioners.

Imparting Industry 4.0 Skills to Tourism and Hospitality Graduates Through Hackathons

The Industry 4.0 revolution (I4.0) brings significant transformations in the travel and tourism industry. Advanced technologies like virtual reality, automation and robotics have paved the way for ‘seamless travel’. The educators are also under pressure to upgrade the curriculum to impart such skills among students, but suitable teaching methods shall also be required. Such practices include event-based education, interdisciplinary collaboration, teamwork, presentation skills and many other adaptative techniques. Hackathons, an essential part of ‘event-based education’, can support the I4.0 paradigm for Industry and academia. This study analyses six hackathons organised by Industry and academic institutions to explore how they contributed to solving the Industry's problems and imparting I4.0 skills among students.

Section 2 Africa

Role of innovation and new product development for swift recovery in hospitality industry in nigeria.

The effect of COVID-19 has undoubtedly left a vacuum in all sectors of the economy in the world, and this is the case especially in the hospitality sector in Nigeria. This vacuum has dealt negatively with the huge investment in the industry to the extent that all stakeholders are at cross-roads on the way out of the predicament. This therefore calls for strategic thinking among the stakeholders in order to reposition the industry to regain its lost trust occasioned by the pandemic. The year 2020 was declared as the worst year in tourism industry, and with the significance of the industry to the well-being of the people across nations, ‘out of the box’ solutions are required to reposition the industry for maximum effectiveness to regain its lost glory. Hence, the question: Can innovative thinking enhance hospitality industry recovery in Nigeria and will new product development reposition the industry? The outcome of the study will be of benefit to the industry stakeholders. Hospitality industry recovery will increase the revenue of Government, touch positively on customers’ emotions who lost loved ones during the pandemic as patronage increases and put smiles on investors' faces as a result of higher returns. The study reviews relevant literature and interviewed stakeholders in the industry. It x-rays the challenges, proffers innovative solutions, such as development of offerings that touch people's emotions, embarks on facility upgrade and makes recommendations that will re-brand the hospitality industry, so that it can better appeal to the customers coupled with safety and security measures.

Section 3 Asia

Evaluation of covid-19's effects and opportunities for bangladesh's sustainable tourism.

Travel ban, restriction and health hazards are the results of disruptive shocks in the tourism industry leading to a significant negative impact on the tourism business. We investigated the COVID-19 induced different restrictions effects in Bangladesh through the synthesis of the literature evidence. Our study found the tourism industry is one of the hardest-hit service industries worldwide during the pandemic. The main purpose of this chapter is to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism and hospitality industry in Bangladesh. New post-epidemic potentials for sustainable tourism growth are outlined. The consequences of COVID-19 in global sustainable tourism are discussed using a qualitative technique based on emergent literature, the most recent tourism reports and content analysis in this chapter. This book chapter complements the literature inventory on COVID-19 by estimating and tracking the world economy's major effects, the impact on sustainable travel and tourism, the effects on nature wildlife tourism and (new) openings for further sustainable tourism. Finally, it analyses the nature and scope of COVID-19's effects on tourism, recovery and resolution in the post-pandemic tourism industry, as well as the suggestions for future growth of sustainable tourism.

The Recovery of Domestic Tourism in China: Practices from a Typical Tourism City Hangzhou

It was estimated that 450 million people would take vacations during the Chinese Spring Festival in early 2020, yet the outbreak of the pandemic resulted in a sudden brake of travel business. This caused an unparalleled damage to the industry for tourism cities in China. Among those cities, Hangzhou was the first to activate the First Level Public Health Emergency Response, indicating an immediate lockdown. However, within one month, the city started to reopen its public facilities, parks and gardens for residents. From then, the city has witnessed a well-controlled pandemic and steady recovery of tourism. Therefore, the author intends to explore (1) what contributes to the tourism recovery in Hangzhou; (2) how the policy was implemented efficiently and (3) the casual relations between the safe destination image and the recovery of tourism industry. From a longitudinal perspective, the research adopted qualitative methods to collect data from policy documents, interviews and auto-ethnographic reflections. Thematic analysis indicates that effective control of the pandemic, early application of tracing app, seamless linkage between administrative levels and the cooperation of local residents are important to create a positive and safe destination image; traditional values and the authority of the government are equally important for implementing measures and policies successfully; more importantly, the safe image of a destination is considered as the most important reason for Chinese to make a travel decision. The research will contribute to destination management under crisis and exemplify the possibility to build the destination resilience with those effective.practices.

Re-engineering Tourism Education Post-COVID-19

This study aims to highlight the post-COVID-19 trends in tourism education within the context of Transformational Learning Theory (TLT). This theory represents a transition in an individual's consciousness and the world beliefs and is usually applied in traditional educational system context. As the current educational system is altering and moving from traditional to digital classrooms, this chapter will explore the 10 phases of the transformative learning process in the upcoming educational trends. The study is conceptual and suggests that reformation of tourism education be adopted from the existing norms of TLT.

Sports Tourism as a Driver for Tourism Development and Recovery

Sports tourism has become an important element of reconstruction, and also considered as a strong tourist activity for tourism development and recovery. Therefore, the main aim of current research is to study the economic impact of sporting events on host communities based on stakeholder theory in Aras Free Zone of Iran and how it may contribute to rejuvenating tourism destination. Qualitative method has been used for the aim of this chapter. A semi-structured interview is applied for data collection. The sampling method was purposive sampling with maximum diversity or heterogeneity. 21 stakeholders have been interviewed who involved in the Iran-Azerbaijan International Cycling Tour or the International Traditional Archery Competition – Aras Geopark Cup. Potential cycling tour stakeholders are selected to conduct in-depth interviews in terms of the economic impact of sport tourism events specifically cycling tours which can be operated by social distancing rules in Aras Free Zone, Iran. The interviews were analysed by thematic analysis. Extracted codes were categorised into four themes: infrastructure development and services, increased awareness of the host community, managerial and policy development, business development, and investment. This study suggests that small scale sports tourism could be considered as motivation drivers in emerging tourist destinations; Specifically, those sports that can be practiced in the pandemic situation following physical distancing such as cycling. The findings of this study help to policymakers and destination marketers to use appropriate sports tourism events as a tool for economic development and tourism recovery of destinations. Managerial implications and limitations are discussed.

Where to Eat? Exploring Flashpacker's Dining Preference in Bali Following the COVID-19 Pandemic

Given Bali's prominence in Indonesia's hospitality industry, tourist hypermobility regarding food preferences following the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a source of contention. As such, this chapter will investigate extreme mobility by examining how ‘the flashpackers’ construct their nomadic lifestyles. This chapter focuses on the ‘freedom to eat’ in a variety of different types of restaurants throughout the destination – creating a pattern of hypermobility. Flashpacker's hypermobility data come from a network analysis of TripAdvisor reviews – with Bali (Indonesia) serving as the case study location. According to the analysis's findings, there are eight distinct preference groups for food and beverage products in Bali. It was discovered that at least five ‘star factors’ contributed to preferences across the eight groups, including (1) ratings, (2) popularity, (3) ownership, (4) social media and (5) price. In light of these factors, the chapter concludes that research into hypermobility in small island destinations is still in its infancy. It is critical to promote thorough research into the influence and impact of hypermobility on all facets of the tourism industry, including local communities and to demonstrate the industry's economic contribution.

Dark Tourism and Destination Recovery: Prospects for Lebanon

This study investigated the potential for the development of dark tourism in Lebanon, a destination that has suffered multiple crises in recent years including conflicts and the world's largest non-nuclear explosion, which devastated a large section the country's capital city, Beirut. Research was carried out using desk audit, key informant interviews and archival research, which identified 21 potential dark tourism sites that could be incorporated into a new dark tourism product as part of the recovery of Lebanon as a tourism destination. Of these 21 sites, the majority were found in Beirut, suggesting that an urban dark tourism product may be the most suitable product to develop as the country emerges from crises. However, a number of barriers would need to be overcome in order for dark tourism to contribute to a form of phoenix tourism in the country, including the engagement of diverse stakeholders, the security of international tourists in the destination, and the ability of the public sector to invest in destination marketing in the post-crisis period.

COVID-19 Effects on Learning Behaviour of Tourism Students for Sustainable Education: The Malaysian Context

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the alarming spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) began to shock the world on 31 December 2019, and it was first detected in Wuhan, Hubei, in China when a patient presented with pneumonia. To date, the virus has recorded over 2,088,663 cases worldwide. The impact of COVID-19 would be precisely worrying as it aggravated not only tourism but also the learning behaviour of tourism students. What are the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the learning behaviour of tourism students? What lessons could be learned to make it more sustainable for the students? And finally, what would be the suggested resilient strategies for the tourism students in the post-pandemic era? There is no original study conducted to focalise investigation on revealing the negative characteristics of COVID-19 and the learning curve of university students in Malaysia. However, the main objectives of this chapter are to provide an overview of the effects of COVID-19 in the learning behaviour of tourism students for sustainable education and the factors that distress students' minds and how these helped students to share the positive aspects with others. It is gradually visible that the effects of COVID-19 on learning behaviour and dangers to university students in Malaysia and their significance on students' emotional change or learning behaviours are not well perceived. This chapter recommends that educational institutions produce studies to proliferate and document the pandemic's impact on the educational system. It is crucial for tourism students for sustainable education in the current time.

Tourist Perception Towards Street Cuisine in Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Period: A Study of George Town Street in Penang in Malaysia

The fastest growing industry in the world is in the hospitality field that focuses on customer satisfaction. Part of this is the food service industry that has been improving its existence for the past years. In the hospitality industry, there are various kinds of businesses and one of them is street cuisine, which is not properly sanitised yet affordable and delicious. The researchers used various approaches to understand the tourists' perception on street cuisine, which are descriptive and quantitative. This research was conducted with millennial visitors in George Town Street, Penang, by using a survey questionnaire. Based on the results, the researchers found out that there are some differences in the perception on street cuisine stalls based on their demographic profile. This study confirmed that street cuisine in George Town Street, Penang, is recognised with its level of hygiene in preparation and with high consideration for its cleanness. In addition, this study also shows that street cuisine in the post-COVID-19 period in George Town Street, Penang, is recognised to have a high commercial value; therefore, more efforts must be engaged to boost its competitiveness in the market. Therefore, there is a need of full support from the Malaysian government, local authorities and local people in maintaining its quality and the preferences of George Town street in Penang as a tourism destination that provides heavenly street cuisine to all tourists in the world.

Sailing Through Post-Pandemic Recovery? The Role of the State for Workers in Cruise Tourism Industry in the Philippines

Based on reflections of the issues encountered from ethnographic studies aboard ocean-going merchant ships and a seafaring community in the Philippines, pressure points on seafarers' lives that situate them in a precarious situation are explored. Due to the pandemic, the decline in total remittances was due to a huge fall in sea-based remittances of about 81% in 2020. The widespread loss of jobs has magnified vulnerabilities in the seafaring sector. The emergent exploration of worker vulnerability in cruise tourism industry is useful in identifying the necessary support for cruise workers to mitigate the long-term undesired effects of the pandemic. The fieldwork also reveals that the demand placed upon seafarers' daily and organizational lives are gendered. Women and men are differently constituted in the shipping and tourism industries which affect work opportunities and family values. The chapter aims to contribute to the discussion on inclusivity vis-a-vis the recovery plan of destination tourism by underlining the gender dynamics in cruise tourism, as it aligns with the general roadmap of growth for Southeast Asian cruise tourism program. We show that the transnational nature of cruise tourism on both labour and employment is interlinked with destination tourism, and the gender dynamics identified and reviewed will help identify and further promote inclusivity in the regional recovery tourism plan.

Rebuilding Resilient Tourism Industry in Odisha: A Study on Revival and Survival Strategies in the COVID-19 Era

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 shook up the Global tourism and threatened many tourism destinations. After the first wave of COVID-19, the invention of vaccines prevented the spread of virus and the industry started healing itself. However, the second wave of the pandemic disrupted the recovery plans and polices of many tourism companies and planners. Tourism and Hospitality industry has faced many challenges in the past. But pandemic of this magnitude was unexpected. The impact is much deeper and complete end of such virus is unpredictable. The need of the hour is to take actions to unpack and reduce such recurring repercussion of COVID-19 and rethink and repackage tourism for restoring the demand. This foregrounds a framework to identify the impact of COVID-19 on Odisha Tourism and formulate a strategic approach for the restoration and survival of the tourism industry in Odisha. The study is both exploratory and descriptive in nature, based upon a qualitative research approach and includes collection of both primary and secondary data. Results of the study reveal that lockdown/shutdown and other restrictions due to pandemic have impacted the key tourism stakeholders in Odisha leaving them under financial instability. The study emphasises on promotion of domestic tourism in a big way. The study focuses on alternative tourism development and improved infrastructure relating to the screening, sanitisation and social distancing of the visitors will build confidence among the visitors and recreate interest in travel. IATA Travel Pass/Vaccination certificate should be a mandatory travel document for safe travel practice.

Section 4 Australia

Rethinking tourism post-covid-19: towards a ‘more-than-tourism’ perspective.

Australia's COVID-19 response has been one of containment and suppression with tightly regulated borders and restrictions on mobility. As an island nation, Australia has considerable advantages in terms of geographic isolation and population density, with quarantining the key strategy for containing the virus coming in from overseas. This has enabled Australia to be relatively virus-free. With such few cases, testing and tracing systems have been able to contain the virus within relatively small geographical locations. In comparison to other parts of the world Australia has been relatively unscathed from the most extreme impacts of COVID-19. In relation to tourism, there have been two major impacts (1) no international tourists in Australia (2) no Australians travelling overseas. While tourism operators that have relied on international tourists have suffered, other tourism operators have thrived due to the domestic-led initiatives for Australians to explore their own backyards. Various initiatives focus on reimaging the visitor economy away from international markets, towards encouraging Australians to spend more money within their own borders. This chapter explores the possibilities with this momentum to rethink tourism and travel more broadly in relation to how we live our everyday lives. We argue that this ‘tourism reset’ allows us to reimagine our being-in-the-world; our lives, habits and routines, for the betterment of social and ecological sustainability, through rethinking leisure time more holistically. Taking a ‘more-than-tourism’ perspective we argue that some of the underlying motivations for travel – such as relaxation, joy, wonder and connection can and should be implemented in our everyday lives, and that this is necessary for rethinking our relationships to each other and the natural world for more sustainable and equitable futures.

‘How Are We Surviving the Pandemic, COVID-19?’: Perspectives from Hospitality Industry Workers in Australia

The COVID-19 pandemic has been disastrous and has affected the hospitality industry worldwide, and the people working in the sector were impacted immensely. The purpose of this study is to understand the viewpoints of hospitality workers in Australia on how lockdowns have impacted professional and personal well-being. The case study methodology is adopted for this study. Viewpoints from Australian hospitality workers were collected through semi-structured interviews. With the pandemic taking surprising turns with the rise of new infections and in turn new pandemic waves, the industry is facing a constant lurking fear of lockdowns. Changing variants of COVID-19 creates a profound effect on the psychological and personal well-being of the people employed in the hospitality sector. This chapter would reflect upon the viewpoints of hospitality workers in Australia after two years of the COVID-19 crisis. A ‘real-time’ assessment is required to understand the vulnerability of hospitality industry workers in a developed country.

Section 5 Europe

How will german travellers select holiday destinations and accommodation during the covid-19 outbreak.

At present, the whole hospitality and tourism sector is severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and related lockdowns have been producing severe transformations in the industry. Several business reports and academic studies have highlighted that, compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak, tourists will likely choose to visit less crowded tourism destinations, and will tend to prefer accommodation facilities that can deliver their services with reduced face-to-face interactions and guaranteeing fair levels of physical and social distancing. This said, there is only a limited number of scientific studies dealing with this topic so far. This, coupled with the extremely dynamic and turbulent environment we are currently experiencing, urges scholars to further intensify the academic discussion on this area of research. Further examination would give practitioners knowledge to assist them in their decision-making in an era of tourism where everyone seems to be moving towards a ‘new normal’ of unknown duration. The present study was thus conducted to make a contribution to this debate by providing and discussing the results of a factor analysis on a sample of 200 German respondents, to dig into the criteria that travellers use to select the destination and the accommodation for their vacation. Findings contribute to deepen the scientific debate about how tourist behaviour is transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic and, potentially, by any other type of virus that could replicate a similar emphasis on hygiene and safety, as well as on social distancing. Meanwhile, our results will provide policy makers, destination marketers, and accommodation managers with useful information on effectively planning and implementing their service design in order to meet tourists' expectations and needs.

The Recovery Phase of Tourism Destinations Impacted by Terrorism – The Role of Strategic Marketing Plans

This chapter examines the role that strategic marketing plans play throughout the process of destination recovery post terrorist attack for the purpose of encouraging the return of tourists. It investigates the impact that strategic marketing plans have as a part of crisis management applying a mixed-method approach which utilises survey data examining future industry leaders to quantify perspectives regarding the relationship between terrorism, tourism and destination marketing. Furthermore, this chapter reviews destination marketing techniques employed by international locations to determine recovery strategies utilising marketing plans. Bali, Paris, Northern Ireland, New York, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey were selected as case studies because they have been the focus of significant research studies to date (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC): BBC News, 2019 ; Ferreira, Graciano, Leal, & Costa, 2019 ) which have primarily focused on the relationship between terrorism and tourism regarding the collapse of the tourism industry. A survey was issued to gain perspectives regarding the relationship between terrorism, tourism and destination marketing. Second, case study analysis was conducted to examine both successful and unsuccessful destination recovery strategies. Results indicate that destinations that utilised strategic marketing as a part of crisis management frameworks experienced the return of tourists and recovered. This research contributed to the development of an inclusive, universal crisis management framework encompassing strategic marketing plans as a tool for recovery.

Tourist Destinations and Instagram Communications Driving Sustainable Tourism Recovery: The Case of Coronavirus Pandemic

This chapter will deal with the issue of how to communicate about tourist destinations in times of crisis, with particular reference to the current coronavirus pandemic. Having affected the whole planet, the COVID-19 pandemic has determined and will also cause serious consequences in many different industries in the next future. It will have a heavy negative impact also in the tourism sector, especially regarding the visitors' perceptions of danger and the current suspension of travels. Today many nations and geographic areas are still in lockdown, but efforts are already being made, in some cases, to adopt recovery marketing strategies in order to reassure consumers and to prepare them for the future reopening of the destinations. In particular, some forms of communication adopted through Instagram by various destinations will be examined and the different strategies will be compared to assess their strengths and weaknesses.

Tourism Impacts of the UNESCO Creative Cities Classification and Destination Recovery: Residents' Perceptions

Considering the classification of the Portuguese cities of Amarante, Braga and Barcelos as UNESCO Creative Cities in 2017, this study employs the case study approach to understand local residents' perceptions of the implications that this classification can bring to each of these cities, to their communities and to local tourism development. More specifically, the research explores the perceived tourism-induced impacts and destination recovery on the three cities, given their certification as Creative Cities. An online questionnaire was used in April 2018 to collect the opinions of local residents. The main findings of this study reveal that most of the respondents are familiarised with the UNESCO Creative Cities classification and are aware that their municipality was awarded this classification in 2017. The findings also reveal that the residents of the three cities have a strongly positive perception of the UNESCO Creative Cities classification. The large majority considers that the classification is important for the tourism development of the cities. A variety of tourism-induced impacts are perceived by the local communities. Overall, the positive impact perceptions outweigh the perceived negative effects. This study contributes to the tourism literature, destination (management) recovery and to local development and place policies of tourist destinations.

Clusters of Generation Z and Travel Risks Perception: Constraining vs. Push–Pull Factors

No matter the fact that it represents significant tourist contingents, Generation Z (Gen Z) is still insufficiently known regarding the main habits, fears or behaviours in changed circumstances. The main objective of this research is to examine the differences in travel risks perception among clusters of young tourists (Gen Z) after one year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was conducted during Serbia's primary tourism season in the first year of the pandemic (from June to October 2020), and just before Serbia's primary tourism season in the second year of the pandemic (May 2021). In 2020, responses of 206 participants were collected, while in 2021 there were 208 participants. Data were gathered from Tourism and Hospitality students at the University of Novi Sad (Serbia) by applying the questionnaire created for the specific purpose of this research. All respondents were representatives of Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2003. The main findings of the research are indicating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak on young tourists' travel plans. Results are also indicating that average scores on health and non-health risks dimensions were significantly higher in the year 2020 than in 2021, as well as that all participants were more concerned with non-health risks than with health risks in both years of the pandemic. Gen Z tourists' response to the COVID-19 pandemic was consistent concern about non-health risks, denying health risks and expecting even some financial benefits from the crisis. The research findings are contributing to building a knowledge base for various tourism stakeholders in terms of developing the guidelines for tourism recovery strategies during and after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Island to Island Travel: The Role of Domestic Tourism for the Swift Recovery of Island Tourism

Domestic tourism has been a prominent form of tourism in the archipelagos. Its dominance has at times been considered to be a limitation causing seasonality. The pandemic has changed many things in this regard. Travelling closer to home and domestic tourism have become even more the norm, and domestic tourism is now seen as a blessing. The role of domestic tourism to restart island tourism was investigated by using a group of islands in the central Mediterranean region. Interviews held with stakeholders and secondary data have shown that island to island domestic tourism was key for such destinations to restart tourism – a major economic sector on such islands. As the pandemic rages on, domestic tourism is expected to increase. This is galvanised by the safe environment found on islands where local populations have been fully vaccinated, the pristine natural environment which is highly sought after following a long period of staying indoors, opportunities of self-catering accommodation with full amenities as well as connections gained between islands. Domestic tourism might be also favoured due to its potential to contribute in reducing emissions which is key for the tourism sector to contribute to the European Green Deal targets. However, several challenges need to be addressed. These include addressing seasonality by targeting domestic tourists also off season through adequate packages focusing on diverse niches comprising ecotourism, ensuring reliable and sustainable sea transport services and better management of the natural environment.

Social Distancing in the Homes of Queuing: Reopening Theme Parks

Late spring, early summer 2020, theme parks across the World started to publish their plans for reopening. In this regard, this chapter ventures into critical questions like what did theme parks learn from the first ‘reopening’? What worked and what has changed? Have or will visitors return? Drafted as an exploratory paper this chapter brings forth the strategies adopted by the theme parks in the quest to return to the normal.

Section 6 North America

Shared accommodations in the maldives: disruptor or mitigator for the island's destination recovery.

The blessing of the sharing economy is that the benefits of development would largely remain locally; this is also a curse because the costs of development too would do the same. While the sharing economy is touted as a creative disruptor, not much is known about their impacts. This chapter examines the role of shared economy actors in the hospitality industry, particularly guesthouses, in tourism recovery. It presents a micro-case study of guest sentiments on guesthouses in the Maldives. Based on an analysis of 17,576 comments, a total of eight factors emerged including: perceived value for money, local culture, hospitality, services, activities, rooms, food and beverage, and island environment. These reviews are useful to understand the factors appealing to visitors to the guesthouses and could become key inputs to the island's tourism recovery strategy.

Section 7 South America

Sustainability-focused recovery approach for cruise tourism after covid-19: key issues and opportunities in the port destination of mahahual - costa maya.

As destinations emerge from the crisis, a sustainability-focused recovery approach is necessary; thus, there is need to design action plans that are capable of managing the environmental impacts caused by cruise tourism and identify citical issues and priorities for sustainable tourism management in the post-COVID-19 era. This article presents a detailed overview of key issues facing cruise tourism in Mahahual – Costa Maya, the second most important port of entry/cruise destination in Mexico and areas of opportunity to cope with or manage change, both positive and negative. Areas of discussion include: local attitudes towards cruise tourism, government policies currently in place or in consideration that may impact cruise tourism, social or environmental projects that cruise companies should support in or around the host destination to foster sustainability after the pandemic. The analysis is based on desk-research, local stakeholder feedback/input, site visits and an evaluation of the destination's policies and practices against a selected number of indicators from Global Sustainable Tourism Council – GSTC's Criteria for Destinations (GSTC-D). Issues identified include: fear of rapid and uncontrolled growth of tourism before the pandemic (both cruise tourism and stay-over tourism), pollution and the loss of ecosystems/environmental degradation, disappointment due to low economic spill – lack of benefits from cruise tourism and limited public services and infrastructure (water and electricity, sewage treatment, garbage etc.). The researcher recommends regular and timely collection, recording, monitoring and public reporting of data about residents' aspirations, issues and satisfaction with destination management.

Section 8 The Future Ahead

Post-pandemic destination recovery: social constructionism and understanding the roles of semiotic representation of customer perception through knowing.

This chapter proposes that while pre-pandemic tourism research has generally focussed on broader, destination-marketing concepts, post-pandemic attention should be paid to the psychological formation of tourist destination perceptions through knowing, with key attention to the role of social constructionism and semiotics design in COVID-19 virus-related destination brand marketing messages. There are future implications for management and research proposed.

Tourism Recovery Plans by UK Destination Management Organisations (DMOs): A New Sustainable Chapter, or a Return to Business-as-Usual?

This chapter evaluates the extent to which sustainable principles have been included on the destination recovery plans implemented by British Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) in response to COVID-19 and their subsequent quarantines during the period 2020–2021. The aim of the chapter is to explore if this pause in activities created by the COVID-19 crisis was used by UK DMOs as an opportunity to develop sustainable destination management plans, or alternatively, led them to prioritise financial income as the key driver in their recovery. The chapter also identifies the goals, motivations, performance indicators and strategies applied by those DMOs which developed post-COVID tourism destination recovery plans, with particular focus on those which have decided to include sustainability elements in their plans. The chapter concludes by developing a set of principles that other DMOs could apply when intending to develop sustainable management plans for their destinations in response to future major operational disruptions.

Festival and Event Tourism: Building Resilience and Promoting Sustainability Challenges and Opportunities in a Post-COVID-19 Environment

Festivals and events have been regarded as one of the sources of super-spreading of the COVID-19 virus. This industry has higher vulnerability to external factors. Against this backdrop, this chapter explores the various methods that will define the future for them while promoting the ideas of sustainability.

• Priyakrushna Mohanty
• Anukrati Sharma
• James Kennell
• Azizul Hassan

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Tourism in the post-COVID world: Three steps to build better forward

Mari elka pangestu.

Tourism is among the industries that have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 crisis. Over a year since the onset of the pandemic, the numbers are staggering: Tourism destinations recorded one billion fewer international arrivals in 2020 than in 2019. A deep decline in international travel led to a loss of about USD 1.3 trillion in export revenues, more than 11 times the loss during the last economic crisis in 2009.   100 to 120 million tourism jobs were put at risk, a large portion in small and medium-sized enterprises.  

This is a grave concern for developing economies as they chart a course towards recovery. Driven by both public and private sectors, not only is tourism a vital source of foreign currency, it has the potential to serve as a development ‘tool’ to strengthen supply chains, improve local firm productivity, creates one out of ten jobs and provide income for women and young people. As a former minister for tourism myself, I have seen up close, the value tourism creates for local communities and how sustainable tourism creates economic value while preserving culture and natural assets.

At a recent panel on tourism resilience and building forward better , during the WTO’s Aid for Trade Stocktaking event last month, we discussed the future of tourism given the current challenges. Industry leaders from Costa Rica, Jordan, Kenya and Sri Lanka shared experiences from their own countries in responding and learning from crises, and insights on how they see the way forward for tourism. 

Three clear steps emerged from the discussion for tourism to build better forward. First, improve traveler confidence; second, understand and track new market trends and the drivers of demand; and third, commit to build more resilient and inclusive tourism sectors, leveraging renewed interest in sustainability – an important takeaway in the long term.

At the World Bank Group (WBG), we are taking a green, resilient, and inclusive development (GRID) approach as we envision the post-COVID world. It was encouraging to see similar ideas reflected in our discussion. Mr. Allan Flores, former Minister of Tourism, Costa Rica, emphasized the pivotal role played by the Certification for Sustainable Tourism initiative in positioning the country as an ecotourism leader.

Kenya’s Minister of Tourism and Wildlife Najib Balala shared how his government is working on diversifying conservation revenue. It was good to hear about the important progress being made in public private partnerships in conservation, and engaging in wildlife bonds , to ensure their natural heritage is protected during tourism crises. Resilience comes through focusing on the environment, people and technology to prepare for climate change and crises. Mainstreaming risk management and investing all along the tourism value chain is Kenya’s approach.

The panel also agreed on the need to build a more inclusive industry, considering the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups. As an institution committed to knowledge and evidence based responses, the WBG has been working to better understand the impact of the crisis on travel and tourism. We know from business impact surveys that women-owned businesses and women tourism employees have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and therefore need dedicated support.

Of course, COVID-19 started out as a health crisis, and improving health safety and building traveler confidence is the immediate challenge which countries need to tackle.  Ms. Kimarli Fernando, Chairperson, Sri Lanka Tourism, spoke about the Sri Lankan government’s efforts to put health protocols in place, communicating with the public daily to instill confidence and understanding of the guidelines. The WBG is also supporting the development of standard operating protocols for hotels and tour operators, and public-private dialogue around recovery strategies . Governments continue to see the need for strong health and sanitation protocols as they seek to protect tourists and residents.   

Looking ahead, future travel will inevitably look different, so data and market intelligence will be vital.  WBG teams are working on business pulse surveys, aviation and policy dashboards and consumer market research – all indicating that in the near term travel will shift to drive to destinations, domestic and proximate travel, as well as strong growth in nature and adventure tourism, highlighting the increasing importance consumers are placing on sustainability. Stimulus recovery programs for tourism could focus on rebuilding tourism locations to be more sustainable, which would create jobs in the rebuilding as well as enhance its attraction. 

Digital technology is another area that deserves attention. Her Royal Highness Princess Dana Firas from Jordan emphasized the important role of technologies such as virtual reality in holding tourist interest during the lockdown, and as a source for data to inform planning and decision making. Technology will continue to play a growing role in long stay tourism as more workers seek remote and telecommuting options. The COVID-19 crisis has increased the number of digital nomads seeking opportunity to work from tourism destinations.  As vaccines are rolled out and offices reopen, destinations will need to keep a close eye on the durability of this market.  

The road to recovery for tourism and travel will require innovation and collaboration. Although the pandemic is far from over, we must also plan to build forward better  – engaging across government, private sector, civil society and other partners – and prepare for changing business models and governance structures to meet new and different demand. Clearly communicating actions to rebuild investor and consumer confidence will be important in the short term. In the long term, strengthening sustainability and resilience, and sharing benefits more equitably will also be critical. Together these approaches can revitalize the global tourism sector, harnessing its market creating power to support economies, create jobs and drive development outcomes that put people and their communities first.

• COVID-19 (coronavirus)

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6 Strategies to Prepare for Tourism Recovery

From our april 2020 destination on the left virtual summit.

Our second-ever Destination on the Left Virtual Summit kicked off in April 2020 with 12 amazing presenters and three full days of content focused around digital marketing, travel trade and niche marketing within the tourism industry. The topics ranged from food tourism to family travel – but more than that, our presenters tailored many of their topics to focus on necessary shifts that destinations and tourism marketers should be making during the COVID-19 pandemic and what to expect in our “new normal” post-pandemic to prepare for tourism recovery.

There is so much knowledge to be gained from these expert tourism professionals. So we’re rounding up key points they made and the takeaways you can focus on now and in the near future.

Adapt experiences

Right now is a great time to get innovative and prepare by building your community and establishing brand trust within the digital world – Jennifer Barbee, Destination Innovate

Within this pandemic, Barbee notes, we are living in an entirely new digital civilization. The standard digital marketing that we are used to – focusing on a heavy sales message, pushing for overnights and conversions – cannot be the norm. Instead, this time should be about discovery, mentally planning for future trips and learning about new destinations, attractions and resorts. She encourages destinations to think now about experiences that they can offer online (like virtual museum tours or video content) and also about new in-person experiences that they can develop for the future. Online, tourism marketers need to focus their efforts on building a community, engaging with their potential customers and establishing a more personal connection with their target audience. She also suggests the use of Facebook groups as a great way to encourage consumers to authentically engage with your travel brand.

Start a tourism recovery plan

At no time has the economic value of travel and tourism been so clearly seen in local communities – Andria Godfrey, ADARA

The folks at ADARA have been measuring travel sentiment and impact since the COVID-19 pandemic first began in China. They even have a resource center on their website that is updated daily with new travel data. Godfrey notes that these data points lead us to believe that local and regional travel – drive market travel – will be more important than ever as we come out of the pandemic, and that now is the time to prepare. She advises destinations to begin creating a recovery plan and outline steps for a swift rebound, keeping an eye on inflection points to get ahead of the curve as travelers eventually pivot back to hotel overnights and air travel.

Destinations should also consider

• What new drive markets can make the most impact in the short-term
• Looking at seasonality changes as school dates shift and families plan for missed travel over spring break
• Preparing for action in what will quickly become a cluttered marketplace

She advises including stakeholders and partners in a recovery plan and setting measurable goals together, as destinations communicate the value of the DMO as part of community economic recovery efforts .

Hone group travel strategies

The group tour market can take between one and three years to generate consistent business. Now is the time to make a plan. – Sally Berry, Bristol Creek Tourism Consulting

Breaking into the travel trade and group tour market is all about playing a long game, so Berry notes that now is a great time for destinations to create a plan for success and educate themselves about becoming group tour ready. Start by developing a strategy for entering this space that includes:

• A presence at trade shows
• Dedicated outreach to operators and sales calls
• Development of a standard operating procedure (SOP) for staff that will untimely interact with group tours
• A method for tracking group tour specific visitors.

Destinations new to the group market can use this time to educate themselves on popular travel trade lingo , explore tools that are commonly used in the group space (like WeChat) and pick up tips on attracting and booking group tours. This is also a great time to create (or update) tour-specific materials like a profile sheet or brochure, a landing page on the destination’s website and integrate group readiness into an online social media presence.

Engage consumers

If every destination goes to market with “something for everyone” then nothing you have ends up mattering. The narrower your focus, the broader your appeal. – Josiah Brown, The New York Sherpa

After talking to more than 10,000 consumers each year, Brown has reshaped his travel views into a true consumer-first perspective. Often, destinations fall into the trap of marketing in the way they are funded, the way memberships or stakeholders are structured, or by the geography of their region or state. But for consumers, their attention is on location (distance + proximity to major attractions) and the destination’s alignment with personal interests like hiking or craft beverage. Brown encourages destinations to take this time to consider their unique positioning and “be famous for something.” Put a stake in the ground and talk about it on their website and Instagram through direct recommendations and attention-grabbing images. He advises marketers to steer clear of posting “well designed ads” and instead look at the best ways to engage with consumers. As consumers begin to look at planning future trips, they are less likely to put their time or money at risk when traveling, instead considering locations that are famous for something they truly care about.

Prepare health & safety messages and plans

Messaging will need to change in the tourism industry – at least in the short-term – to communicate safety, intimacy and storytelling. – Erik Wolf, World Food Travel

Post-pandemic, Wolf predicts a sudden demand for travel as pent-up consumers begin to re-emerge from their homes. But in order to capture interest immediately, destinations will need to change up their messaging and start planning for a more cautious type of traveler. There will be more need to communicate health and safety measures, in particular to ensure visitors feel safe at various attractions, restaurants, tours or even getting back on an airplane for the first time. Smaller group activities are also more likely to occur, so destinations should consider limiting measures – taking large group experiences down to four or six people instead of the regular 12 or 15. Wolf also encourages marketers to consider and communicate the “why” of a visit or tour, stating “people will be desperate to experience other people again.” He instead encourages destinations to make a real move towards storytelling – giving the stories and faces behind the scenes – instead of just the features of the tour itself.

Tell your story

People don’t buy your product. They buy your story. Invest time and energy into thinking about what that story is. – Glenn Clark, Crafting a Brand

Echoing the sentiments of a few other sessions, Clark dives into branding and storytelling and talks about how important it is now for destinations and attractions to sell their unique story to customers, not just the product they offer. Now is the time for marketers to take a step back and think about the true attractors that drive visitors to select their destination, stay at an accommodation, or dine at a restaurant. He advises tourism professionals to think beyond the sales angle and dive into the who and how – how did your business get started, what makes it different, who are the faces behind the counter, has someone famous visited or stayed there? Without a story, your destination is just another on the list, another bottle of wine, another bed to sleep in.

Keep learning

The April Destination on the Left Virtual Summit came during a time of great change for our nation and our world. But the lessons learned are important keys to helping marketers navigate that change and come out of this pandemic with a strategy, a plan to move forward and the tools to make an impact and stand out in the crowd.

All of our Virtual Summit presentations are available for free until April 30, 2020. Register to view them all at: https://breaktheicemedia.com/podcast/summit/ .

Break the Ice Media is also offering a new online course called “ Strategic Marketing Planning for Post-Pandemic Recovery .” We’ll take you through the specific steps we use at BTI to create strategic marketing plans for our clients, built out as a 7-week course complete with resources and homework assignments meant to guide you through our process. Sign up today to continue learning and add new skills to your marketing toolkit for tourism recovery!

Sarah Martin

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• Society and culture

New plan to drive rapid recovery of tourism sector

A new rail pass and vouchers for popular tourist attractions are at the heart of a plan to return domestic tourism to pre-pandemic levels by 2022 and international tourism by 2023.

• Tourism Recovery Plan to help sector build back better from the pandemic
• Plan aims to recover domestic tourism to pre pandemic levels by 2022 and international tourism by 2023 - both at least a year faster than independent forecasts predict
• New initiatives to boost tourism include £10 million National Lottery Days Out scheme to support attractions and a new rail pass to encourage domestic breaks

#RediscoverTourism: Nigel Huddleston on the Tourism Recovery Plan

A £10 million voucher scheme will be launched by The National Lottery this autumn to encourage trips beyond the peak summer season, with players having the chance to claim vouchers to redeem at tourist attractions across the UK between September 2021 and March 2022.

A rail pass for “staycationers” will be launched later this year, helping to make it easier and more sustainable for domestic tourists to get around the country. The new pass will build on the success of the BritRail pass, which is sold through VisitBritain and currently gives international visitors flexible travel across the country, as well as providing discounted entry to tourism attractions.

There will be a new focus on technology and data. The government will explore how tourism data collected at the border can support the sector and we will look to create a tourism data hub to give the sector access to robust, accessible and timely data. The hub could track consumer trends in travel, such as the growth in “active tourism” such as watersports and hiking, and booking of sustainable tourism experiences. The data gathered will help inform policy and marketing whilst working to improve visitor experience.

The government will develop a Sustainable Tourism Plan later this year to put the UK at the forefront of the global discussion on sustainable travel. This will look at further measures to reduce the impact of tourism on our environment whilst balancing the needs of local communities with the economic benefits generated by tourism. The Plan will build on the significant investments in sustainable tourism already underway, such as the completion of the England Coast Path - the longest of its type in the world - and the almost £1 billion investment in electric vehicle charging hubs at service stations.

Pre-pandemic, England looked set to hit 100 million domestic overnight trips in 2020. In 2019, 41 million international visitors came to the UK for business or leisure, spending over £28 billion whilst here and putting the UK in the top 5 countries globally for inbound visitor spending.

However the sector has been hugely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with cities amongst the most impacted areas. £19 million has also been earmarked for marketing campaigns to promote cities and towns across the country, with a £5.5 million domestic campaign already underway.

The Government has acted to protect jobs and businesses in the tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors, which have received over £25 billion in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks, including £5 billion in VAT cuts.

The government will also launch a consultation on the introduction of a Tourist Accommodation Registration Scheme in England. This will consider the benefits of the rise of short term holiday rentals in attracting tourists to destinations across the country and contributing to the English tourism economy, as well as its impact on local economies and communities. The consultation will help us target further government interventions in the future and create an improved national picture of the precise shape of the accommodation landscape which could feed into a wider Data Hub.

The plan also looks ahead to 2022: a massive year for the UK showcasing the nation on the world stage with a triumvirate of major events. Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Festival UK 2022 and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will promote the very best of Britain at home and abroad. An additional bank holiday for the Queen’s Jubilee will provide a further boost for tourism and hospitality while a £24 million Business and Tourism Programme will run alongside the Commonwealth Games to promote Birmingham, the West Midlands and the UK.

The government is determined to level-up the country and to ensure that every region is reaching its full potential. A root and branch review of how tourism at a regional and local level is funded and supported is already underway, focusing on the important role played by Destination Management Organisations, and will report in the summer.

Tourism Minister Nigel Huddleston MP said:

Our brilliant tourism sector is one of our country’s greatest assets, making a huge contribution to our economy and delivering jobs across all communities. This is why we’ve provided it with £25 billion in support so far during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Tourism Recovery Plan is our blueprint for how the sector can build back better from the pandemic, even faster than forecasts predict. It’s been a challenging year for the tourism sector, especially for our cities, but I know they stand ready to welcome visitors back and I encourage everyone to rediscover the UK’s fantastic tourism offer.

Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart MP said:

Wales has so much to offer visitors, and tourism is key to our economy. Throughout the past year the UK Government has provided this vital sector with necessary support to ensure it builds back even stronger than before the pandemic. Measures announced today that apply in Wales show the UK Government is delivering for one of the sectors that has been hardest hit.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis MP said:

Whether you are visiting the stunning Mourne mountains, the dark hedges, touring filming locations of the Game of Thrones or enjoying the award-winning food and drink, Northern Ireland’s culture is rich, with local towns and cities filled with history, literature and digital innovation. Today’s announcement of the Tourism Recovery Plan is fantastic news, by working with and supporting local businesses, we can showcase the best of Northern Ireland on a global scale. Ensuring we build back better across the country, creating jobs, supporting creativity and economic growth following the pandemic.

UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart MP said:

“Tourism is a cornerstone of Scotland’s economy, so it’s fantastic that this ambitious UK Government plan is helping the sector recover.

“Scotland has a huge amount to offer tourists, from our vibrant cities to our spectacular scenery. The launch of a new rail pass will encourage people from across the UK to come and explore our beautiful country while giving the tourism and hospitality sectors a much-needed boost.”

Additional quotes

VisitBritain/VisitEngland chairman Lord Patrick McLoughlin said:

The UK Government’s Tourism Recovery Plan is a welcome and important step on the industry’s road to recovery, recognising the economic potential of the sector, setting out a clear policy direction for the future and outlining the ambitions for domestic and international tourism. Tourism is a critical industry, a powerhouse of innovation, creativity and employment, injecting cash into the economy with a track record for growth and levelling-up, supporting local economies in every part of the UK and strengthening our place on the world stage. By working together to drive demand and build back visitor spend as quickly as possible we can emerge from the pandemic and also look towards a brighter future building an industry that is more resilient, sustainable, inclusive and innovative. Our spending review bid this year will seek to support the plan’s ambitions and to build on the successful projects we have been running, working with the UK Government and across the industry to cement the recovery and the future of one of this country’s greatest industries.

Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive Officer, UK Hospitality, said:

The Tourism Recovery Plan is a hugely positive and welcome recognition of the social, economic and cultural importance of the hospitality and tourism sector. It is not only our third largest export earner but also domestically it delivers jobs, growth and investment at pace and scale in communities across the UK. This strategic plan will not only expedite hospitality’s recovery but also the national recovery post COVID. We look forward to working collaboratively across Government departments, to help build resilience and international competitiveness and catalyse cultural and economic renaissance.

Michael Hirst OBE, Chairman, Events Industry Board, said:

Meetings and conferences, exhibitions and trade shows are crucial to the UK’s recovery in showcasing innovation, growing international visitors, attracting inward investment and creating jobs. We are delighted to see this recognised within the Recovery Plan which includes expansion of VisitBritain’s support programmes to include a UK-wide domestic fund, greater cross Whitehall working and enhanced Ministerial advocacy support plus elements related to sustainability, skills and accessibility. We are committed to working with government to ensure the UK retains and enhances its position as a leading European nation for hosting business events.

Amanda Cupples, General Manager for Northern Europe at Airbnb, said:

Airbnb is preparing for what we believe will be the travel rebound of the century and we want to work with the Government to help everyone benefit. Clear rules to back Britain’s hospitality entrepreneurs will accelerate the recovery of tourism and support local families and communities. We have worked with communities across the UK on proposals for a tourism accommodation register and we are delighted to see the Government take this work forward. We will continue to work with everyone to support the recovery of tourism and help the UK to build back better.

Simon Vincent, Hilton President for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said:

The hospitality and tourism sector has faced unique challenges during the pandemic so we welcome this plan which provides much needed focus and support to aid the recovery. Crucially it recognises the critical role our sector will play in creating jobs and helping communities across the UK build back faster and better. As an industry we look forward to working alongside Government Departments to deliver the Tourism Recovery Plan, creating thousands of jobs, investing in communities, and showcasing the world beating attractions the UK has to offer – while shaping the new era of sustainable travel together.

Notes to editors:

• Read the Tourism Recovery Plan

For more information on where to visit this summer see:

See ‘What’s on in 2021’ in Britain

See cultural exhibitions specifically in Britain

See more information on what’s new in England cities this summer

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  Tourism Sector Recovery Plan

• Implement norms and standards for safe operation across the tourism value chain to enable safe travel and to rebuild traveller confidence;
• Stimulate domestic demand through targeted initiatives and campaigns;
• Strengthening the supply-side through resource mobilisation and investment facilitation;
• Support for the protection of core tourism infrastructure and assets;
• Execute a global marketing programme to reignite international demand;
• Tourism regional integration; and
• Review the tourism policy to provide enhanced support for sector growth and development.

How TTB envisions future of local tourism

TANZANIA: THE Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) is envisioning a new strategy to transform hospitality industry in the country, coming up with cocreation, designed to fully engage consumers in improving and creating new products in the sector.

Co-creation, in the context of a business, refers to a product or service design process in which input from consumers plays a central role from beginning to end.

TTB Director General Ephraim Mafuru is determined to transform tourism landscape in the country, attracting the numbers of both domestic and international arrivals. He also places much priority and emphasis on attracting as many high-end tourists as possible.

“It is imperative, we begin thinking and implementing a procedure which allows consumers to submit ideas, designs or content. This way, we will not run out of ideas regarding the design to be created and at the same time, significantly help in improving service provision,” he said during a meeting with editors in Mikumi National Park recently.

For the TTB new boss, the priority involves identifying new tourism products and experiences, improving infrastructure and working with stakeholders to ensure sustainable tourism development.

He insisted about setting standards for tourism services, promoting responsible tourism practices and ensuring the industry operates in a sustainable and ethical manner.

He also urged the need to improve policy related to tourism industry, for it to go abreast with the advanced changes across the globe.

He was also aware that low levels of advertisement and promotions have made people unaware of the existence of tourist attractions in the country, reducing the number of intending visitors and tourists.

He also expressed awareness on the inadequate supply of skilled manpower to handle wildlife and hotel management tourists, saying this has negatively affected the quality of customer service rendered to tourists.

Mr Mafuru said Tanzania is a truly magnificent country, packed with unspoiled environment and a variety of national parks.

The landscape of Tanzania is broad and fascinating. It is endowed with humid rainforests, snowy mountain peaks and everything in between, it’s a varied nation that plays host to so much biodiversity.

Also Read: Minister Kairuki holds talks wth Grumeti Reserves investor in Dar

Tanzanian people are friendly and welcoming, and their culture is rich and fascinating and it was crucial to maximise from all these aspects and potential for the country to earn maximum benefits of its own resources.

Already, Mr Mafuru is leading transformation at TTB, for it to work tirelessly to meet the country’s objective of attracting five million tourists, who will bring into the government coffers 6 billion US dollars (about 15tri/-) come 2025.

“There are a number of initiatives we are taking right now, which includes coming up with new products and vibrant destination marketing. “It is high time now we commercialised the aspect of Tanzanians being friendly people and extensively market the culture of our people as a new package in hospitality industry,” noted Mafuru.

“One of our primary functions is to market and promote the country as a tourist destination to both domestic and international travellers. This involves creating marketing campaigns, advertising and promotional activities to showcase the country’s attractions, culture, heritage and unique selling points.

We will vigorously undertake this task, adding products like theme parks, cultural, conference tourism, sports and medical tourism in our menu.

It is unfortunate that we have not done enough in these areas,” he said. He said media is responsible for supporting the promotion of tourism industry from lower to the national level.

In fact, adding creativity to tourism has become a common diversification strategy, particularly in the field of cultural tourism.

Developing new events and festivals, regenerating old buildings and adding animation to static attractions have become commonplace and this is the way Mr Mafuru thinks the country must go.

In fact, Mafuru said in two weeks’ time, a group of tour operators from China will come into the country who seek for introduction of direct charter flight from big cities in China to Tanzania.

“We have ATCL (Air Tanzania Company Limited) plying Guangzhou route three times a week, but there is no harm for code sharing, to increase the number of flights and tourists from China, where we can take a fraction from over 100 million Chinese tourists, who visit various parts of the world.

“The problem we face to attracting tourists from China at the moment is accessibility…one is forced to take longer routes and stopovers to come to Tanzania. You spend almost 20 hours to arrive in Tanzania. This is very tiring and not healthy in terms of attracting tourists especially “luxury travelers.”

“There is also an element of negative campaign on pricing issue that must be swiftly addressed. Some tour operators are saying that Tanzania is too expensive, I quizzed and demanded them to provide detailed cost structure for a tourist coming to Tanzania but they failed to respond to this query.

This made me realise that within the industry, there are unscrupulous individuals who portray Tanzania as an expensive destination for their own benefits. We, especially the media must stand out and say the truth,” said Mafuru.

He said in Tanzania, cost for a tourist from East Africa to have access to the National Parks stands at 10,000/-, compared to Kenya’s 20,000/- , while South Africa is more expensive.

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UN Tourism | Bringing the world closer

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COVID-19: UNWTO Calls on Tourism to be Part of Recovery Plans

• All Regions
• Tourism faces up to the COVID-19 challenge and public health is paramount due to the fundamental people-to-people nature of the sector.
• A cross-cutting economic activity unlike any other, and an integral part of the Sustainable Development agenda, tourism will play a key role in future recovery efforts.
• UNWTO calls on governments, international organizations and donor agencies to include tourism as a priority in recovery plans and actions.
• The World Health Organization continues to advise against the application of travel or trade restrictions to countries experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks.

In an update on the sector’s response to the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) offers a first assessment pointing to a decrease in international arrivals and receipts in 2020. Public health measures need to be implemented in ways that minimize any unnecessary disruption to travel and trade. Since the start of the outbreak, UNWTO has been working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure this is the case.

UNWTO has revised its 2020 prospects for international tourist arrivals to a negative growth of 1% to 3%, translating into an estimated loss of US$ 30 to 50 billion in international tourism receipts. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, UNWTO predicted a positive growth of 3% to 4% for this year.

This first assessment expects that Asia and the Pacific will be the worst affected region, with an anticipated fall in arrivals of 9% to 12%. Estimates for other world regions are currently premature in view of the rapidly evolving situation. UNWTO underscores that any estimate must be treated with caution and is likely to be updated.

Preparing for recovery

UNWTO calls for financial and political support for recovery measures aimed at tourism, and to include support for the sector in the wider recovery plans and actions of affected economies.

The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak will be felt across the whole tourism value chain. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili furthermore stresses that “small and medium sized enterprises make up around 80% of the tourism sector and are particularly exposed with millions of livelihoods across the world, including within vulnerable communities, relying on tourism”.

Political and financial commitments are key to ensure that tourism can lead wider economic and social recovery, as proven in past disruptions on the back of the highly resilient nature of the sector and its ability to bounce back strongly.

In recent decades, tourism has come of age, and is now firmly established as an important contributor to sustainable development, economic growth, employment and international understanding. As the UN agency responsible for tourism and sustainable development, UNWTO stands ready to provide guidance and support for recovery measures of its members, the private and public tourism sector, including organizers of tourism events and fairs.

Relevant links:

• Impact assessment of the COVID-19 outbreak on international tourism
• Download PDF
• Tourism and COVID-19
• Updated WHO recommendations for international traffic in relation to COVID-19 outbreak

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Barbados: third reviews under the arrangement under the extended fund facility, arrangement under the resilience and sustainability facility, and request for modification of performance criteria-press release; and staff report.

Publication Date:

June 28, 2024

Electronic Access:

Free Download . Use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this PDF file

The authorities’ implementation of the home-grown Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT 2022) plan and their ambitious climate policy agenda remain strong, supported by the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). In 2023, the economy completed its recovery from the pandemic, growing by an estimated 4.4 percent, driven by a rebound in tourism and related sectors. Inflation moderated gradually with the easing of global commodity prices but remained somewhat elevated due to adverse weather conditions that affected some domestic crops, and stronger demand for tourism-related services. The external position also strengthened, with the current account deficit narrowing to 9 percent of GDP and ample international reserves (US$1.5 billion at end-2023) continuing to support the exchange rate peg. The authorities remain committed to maintaining fiscal consolidation and debt sustainability, while advancing structural reforms to achieve more inclusive and sustainable growth and increase resilience to climate change.

Country Report No. 2024/196

Budget planning and preparation Central bank bills Central Banks Climate change Climate finance Environment Expenditure Financial sector policy and analysis Financial sector stability Fiscal policy Fiscal stance Public debt Public financial management (PFM)

9798400281082/1934-7685

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