Covid-19 “tourism in flight mode”: a lost opportunity to rethink tourism – towards a more sustainable and inclusive society

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to report on a post-confinement reflection (not post-COVID-19) resulting from a series of online forums that took place during the peak moments of the pandemic, with the intention of raising awareness and mobilising tourism agents for the development of tourism planning and tourism intelligence, taking advantage of the period of stagnation of the tourism industry. The project was named “Tourism in flight mode: Thinking together the post COVID-19 tourism”.

Design/methodology/approach

The project was based on the sharing of information and experiences in virtual forums where participants from all over the world had the opportunity to explain how the pandemic was influencing their work/business, the regional or national tourism activity, GDP and jobs and how they and their regions were preparing for the recovery of tourism. On a biweekly basis, virtual forums were organised, with participants from three continents and 12 countries. The results were contextualised by carrying out a review of the most recent literature and authors’ tourism know-how in the field.

Findings

The results of the discussions allowed for an identification of new potential successful tourism products and new proposals for the design of basic pillars for destinations planning.

Practical implications

This paper offers practical recommendations for public administration and others on dealing with unexpected crises in the tourism sector and how to respond through the development of new and adapted products and approaches to tourism.

Originality/value

This paper creates awareness in public administration and other agencies about the opportunities and the needs for this “new era”.

Citation

Pardo, C. and Ladeiras, A. (2020), "Covid-19 “tourism in flight mode”: a lost opportunity to rethink tourism – towards a more sustainable and inclusive society", Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Vol. 12 No. 6, pp. 671-678. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-07-2020-0064