The past year has been a year of challenges and successes throughout the world’s tourism industry. Despite the reactivation of tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic many people in the tourism industry will not be sad to say adieu to the year that has just ended. We might call 2024 a year of hope and despair, a year when we thought we might have seen an end to the fear of travel due to the pandemic, but at the same time a world beset by war and violence. This past year was a year of challenges, both economic and political. We saw nations grappling with issues of illegal immigration, war, crime and violence. Inflation became an economic cancer that gnawed at the very fabric of the tourism industry, but at the same time, stock markets hit all-time highs. When we combine inflation with aging populations in Europe, the United States, China and Japan, it is clear that the tourism industry will face major challenges Perhaps the economic challenges were best exemplified by the fact that although unemployment fell from its COVID-19 levels, due to inflation many people had to work two or even three jobs and had no money left over for non-basic necessities such as travel. Price inflation was especially noticeable in both the travel and hospitality sectors of the industry.
The year 2024 then was a year in which for some the rich became richer and too often the middle and lower classes became poorer. To add to the contradictions of 2024, low-cost airline flights permitted travel for those who struggled economically, and these flights often resulted in overtourism.
In 2024 throughout the tourism industry many nations continued to suffer from supply chain failures and a continued decline in customer service. Crime and terrorism were also a problem, especially in some Western nations. Throughout 2024 the tourism industry suffered from wars in the Middle East and Europe, threats of war in the Asian pacific, and gang violence in many parts of Latin and North America. Additionally, the tourism industry has had to face the problem of human and sex trafficking, with children, women, and men having become a new servant of even slave class.
As the world’s economies face new challenges, from high inflation to employee shortages, tourism leaders are having to rethink their assumptions and world views. It seems hard to believe that only a few short years ago tourism leaders believed that tourism was indestructible. Prior to 2020 international tourism was on the rise and many locales, such as Barcelona, Spain, Venice, Italy, and the United States national park system faced what was called “over-tourism”. Then, almost in the blink of an eye, the world of tourism changed, and the fear of over-tourism became the fight for tourism survival. Now in the post-Pandemic era overtourism has become a problem in some areas of the world, while other areas lack both visitors and service personnel.
To help you determine your own strategy Tourism & More presents the following ideas and possible future trends although emphasizing that we live in a highly fluid situation and what might appear logical today might be invalid tomorrow.
Be aware of potential tourism challenges in 2025. Among these challenges are:
Threats of war throughout the world
Unstable workforce
Unstable or social media
Creating healthy travel for senior citizens
In a world beset by high costs, daily regulation changes, and poor service freebees are more important than ever. Even when people are feeling good about their economic situation travelers still love to receive something for nothing, even if they have to pay for it! In these challenging times, a welcome drink or cookie, a small gift or souvenir can turn a simple experience into a memorable one. Combine basic costs into the cost of an admission ticket or a free night’s stay. If hospitality is based on the idea of being taken care of and pampered than charging for extras may be a poor strategy. Avoid extra sur-charges. In the new world of travel, personal service is essential.
Be appreciative! All too often tourism businesses act as if they are doing the customers a favor. This is the time to develop creative ways to show appreciation. For example, locales may want to develop “welcome passports” to be used at restaurants and hotels where visitors are provided with a free “extra” as a way of showing appreciation. Showing appreciation is especially important in an era where long-haul travel may decline. Tourism businesses will become dependent on local, short-haul and regional travel if they are to survive during the initial recover phases. Follow-up letters may also be sent in which the local tourism industry thanks people for visiting. The letters can even be e-letters and used as a way to encourage visitors to return for another visit.
Smiles cost nothing. The travel and tourism industry might have to cut back on products offered or raise prices, but a smile is a commodity that never runs out and costs the industry nothing. Having employees with dower looks on their faces is the last thing that the travel and tourism industry needs.
Be realistic. That means keep up with the news, follow guidelines and use common sense. In these trying times it is all too easy to become despondent. Face the world with realistic optimism. Have confidence in yourself and your industry and be prepared to find creative solutions to whatever problems 2025 might have in store for all of us. Tourism professionals will have to face reality, begin to prioritize problems, and seek solutions one at a time. Be dignified and honest with both employees and customers. The worst thing is to lose credibility.
Inflation means additional travel costs! In a world where prices rise faster than wages visitors and travelers will be seeking ways to economize. Visitors tend not to see each part of their tourism experience (hotel, transportation, food, attractions) as separate experiences but rather as a single unified experience. The tourism industry needs to do the same. Each of tourism’s components needs to work with the other sectors of the industry to find ways to increase the quality of the tourism experience despite higher prices. If visitors do not see the total experience as worthwhile, then all of the tourism industry’s components will suffer.
Think local especially in these times of high food and fuel costs! Consider expanding your market by finding more visitors closer to home. This solution will help not only the local hotel industry, but also permit retailers to weather the storm by adding to the community’s economy as tourism revenues from outside of the local region begin to fall. Buying and featuring local products adds a unique quality to the travel experience. In areas where there are geographic limitations, such as many island destinations, develop creative pricing, along with creative airport hospitality.
Surveys and asking people to fill out on-line recommendations can become counterproductive! Many frequent travelers are over-surveyed and see right through surveys that are designed to avoid negative feedback. Surveys have become so common in tourism that they have become not only meaningless but a new annoyance. The best surveys are oral survey where the tourism business not only listens but acts.
Get to know your product again! Tourism professionals need to rethink what they are selling! Ask yourself: Are we selling experiences, leisure, rest, or history? Are we selling basic transportation or the travel experience? How does our business fit into the total travel experience in this post-Covid-19 world? Do our past marketing efforts reflect current realities?
The last impression is often the lasting impression, so consider being creative when people leave a destination. For example, hotels can give a restaurant coupon to departing guests, passport controls can hand out a come-back soon brochure or gas stations can offer a free cup of coffee-for-the-road. The cost of the item is a lot less important than the memory and positive word of mouth advertising that it will create.
The Tourism & More staff wishes everyone a happy and successful 2025!
Peter TarlowPresident Tourism and More+1 979 764 8402Tourism and More
