Author: Dr Urška Bratož
The current crisis has reminded us that we must constantly prepare for changes and that these can take us by surprise. In the past, humanity has faced many crises not only generically linked to survival, but specifically epidemics and pandemics. Their influence on all levels of social life is by no means negligible. At the end of the First World War, the world faced a flu pandemic of appalling proportions. Nowadays, we often hear that the Covid-19 pandemic is the worst crisis since the Second World War: even in economic terms, its impact will certainly be great. This is especially true in a sector such as tourism (according to some estimates, it implies a loss of one billion euros per month), which depends on the movement of people, which are subject to severe limits during epidemics.
In the past, infectious diseases have already caused the introduction of movement restrictions of people and goods (e.g. cordons sanitaire and lazarettos), or have led to domestic isolation. Yet there have always been »relief valves« through which the borders have remained partially open (for instance, minor or selective controls, abbreviated quarantines...). Their purpose is to avoid even bigger economic damage. The hardships caused by the economic crisis could lead to even more extreme consequences than the epidemic itself. The self-isolation we are witnessing today would probably have been unimaginable in past centuries. It will undoubtedly enable a more effective control of the disease, but its economic consequences, which are already emerging, will be severe.
The post-crisis challenges will likewise be hard. They often occur in an unexpected way: in the past, tourism activities survived insofar as they found ways to renew themselves. Also projects like MerlinCV will face a challenging task. Many believe that regional tourism (where the importance of Interreg projects will probably become clear) will be the first step towards a revival of tourism. However, this will take place in several stages. Once the restrictive measures begin to get less stringent, the revitalization of tourism will primarily rely on day trips and on the visits within one`s own region or state. Even when people will be allowed to travel, they will try to avoid crowded and heavily visited locations, choosing activities with fewer health risks. The advantage of the MerlinCV project is precisely in its focus on the local offer, which can expand to regional level and subsequently to the interregional and interstate ones.
In general, the tourism sector will have to become even more flexible, with the need to adapt to a profoundly different situation. Stakeholders in the field of tourism (from governments to academia, from the private sector to the media and civil society) have to be flexible and to provide adequate tools before the crisis occurs. They must therefore put in place actions that can restore a balance, through reorganization, collaboration, sharing of plans and implementation methods to provide effective responses to destabilizing events. It is too late now, but it will be necessary to work in this direction in any recurring crises.
In the future, this will most likely lead, at least, to instructions (in interactive form) for the management of tourists and employees in times of crisis, in view of increasing the efficiency of information channels. It will also be necessary to provide adequate safety equipment and to train people for the reorganization of events. It will then be necessary to invest in innovative marketing campaigns, which will effectively influence the decisions that people will make about their travels.
Tourism experts warn us that it will be necessary to think carefully about how tourism will function in the period following the end of the pandemic. After all, epidemics unleash fears that remain alive for a long time. The outbreak of coronavirus will increase the tendency to choose less crowded and more isolated destinations, but it will also change the behaviour of tourists. This will consequently pose new demands. Hygiene expectations will be higher than usual; avoidance of personal contact (for example in registration, check-in, payment) will become necessary, as well as higher level of security of digital services and identity protection. Virtual assistance may replace employees. Products for local and even "quarantined" visitors will probably increase: virtual tours, remote workshops and a variety of virtual experiences and live tours, in the way which for example was conceived in the Faroe Islands, where it is the spectator who directs the local guide according to his wishes.
In understanding these well-founded human fears (not only related to travel, but also to crowds), which from now on will be rooted in the collective subconscious, we shall have to draw alternatives to the tourist experiences known so-far, new approaches and adaptations of existing (or planned) tourism products. There are even those who believe that this is the ideal time for operators to rethink their destinations and transform their offerings, adopting digital solutions and thinning out the crowds of visitors, turning to rural destinations and nature. MerlinCV also has the potential to adapt to these new "crisis" guidelines. Even more than before, it will be able to bring out lesser-known locations, to give events and gamification initiatives a virtual look, to ensure that the tools contained in the application are able to analyze the new behavioural habits of visitors and their set of preferences, thus allowing the tourism sector to make its own contribution in the future.
Sources:
https://www.eturbonews.com/268939/how-to-recover-from-a-tourism-crisis/
https://www.euractiv.com/section/coronavirus/news/european-tourism-secto...
https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2020/03/02/tourism-resilience-ne...
Operation co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund
