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Before the pandemic, tourism grew faster than the global economy and traveling had never been easier. Then COVID-19 stalled the globetrotting and left the trillion dollar industry in ruins.
But can the sector get moving again now, given the rapid vaccination that is fueling optimism? How different will the travel experience be? And which parts of the world are open for business? Stephen Cole from Agenda finds out.
Eduardo Santander is CEO of the European Travel Commission, which promotes Europe as a travel destination for the rest of the world. He tells Stephen Cole that he is hopeful that tourism will resume this summer with the help of a vaccine certificate, but warns people not to repeat last summer’s mistakes when a failure of social distance led to a surge in infections. He also explains that because of the long break from travel, countries have realized their over-reliance on mass tourism for their economies.
Greece is often at the top of the list of places that are most dependent on tourism. The visitors contribute a whole quarter to the gross domestic product. It is also the country that received one of the largest financial bailouts in history due to its debt crisis. It is therefore not surprising that Greece is desperately looking to restart the travel industry. Angela Gerekou is President of the Greek National Tourism Organization and explains to Stephen Cole how every effort is being made to prepare and how she wants the country to be a global center for sustainable tourism by 2030.
Another troubled sector is the hotel industry. Travel restrictions wiped out more than $ 138 billion in accommodation sales, ending a decade of growth. Asks Stephen Cole Rocco Forte, Chairman of the luxury chain Rocco Forte Hotels, on his plans to combat the zoom boom and bring back leisure and corporate customers. According to Forte, the pandemic was “an utter disaster” for hospitality, explaining that some European countries have been more helpful than others in providing direct financial assistance.
And the aviation industry has nowhere near escaped the turbulent times of the past 16 months, losing $ 126 billion in 2020. Another loss of $ 47 billion is expected this year. Despite this, Bjorn Tore Larsen founded a brand new airline, Norse Atlantic Airways, and tells Stephen Cole why he is putting his hopes and money on a great start by the end of 2021.
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