public life has been almost halted for more than a year: countries have closed, and travel frozen.
economies dependent on tourism have been challenged. cultural institutions, fairs and congresses, travel agencies, accommodations, restaurants, and retail – the entire tourism ecosystem – saw their activities ‘upended’ overnight.
then, 2021’s summer gave space to hope, and vacations briefly came back, until now when – approaching the festive season – we are still uncertain of the shape travel will take.
in this fluctuating situation, many workers of these industries have been retrenched; others are rethinking their careers. they represent a big portion of the ‘great resignation’, a phenomenon of ‘mass quitting’ that started in the US and it’s expanding globally as result of multiple factors – including fear of contagion, unappreciated shift work for low wages, change of sectors and a re-found gratitude for family and private time.
on the other side of the spectrum, travellers have also been re-evaluating their aspirations. social distancing, time isolated, or, for the less lucky, work in distress, have contributed – if not to an epiphany – at least to a slightly new perception of life and priorities that inevitably impact how they shape their free time, select remote work locations and vacations.
the aggregate result of all the factors seems to be a jumbling world where going out, let alone travelling, feels far from the spontaneous affair we romantically remember.
the first few months of re-conquered freedom of movement have been a bit scratchy.
when even allowed, international travel – shifting across continents or just leaving one’s country – is complex. planning and paperwork are more time-consuming than ever. efforts are needed to keep up to speed with changeable protocols, digital certificates, and distancing measures. getting guidance and support is hard as customer services are often scrambling, seemingly unable to meet clients’ needs and expectations. once finally in transit, ‘bar-coded’ passengers are unceremoniously scanned and grazed across airports and train stations by overworked teams – themselves strained by ever-changing directives and often unaware of the entire ‘handling’ process.
in brief, layers of complexity, uncertainty and a consequent lack of trust seem to charge the experience of ‘going’ anywhere with undesired emotional distress.
and so, how are people – running the steeplechase that separates them from their next business deal, vacations, or loved ones – responding? what are the immediate reactions, and what would be the long-term impact?
at the moment, business travel seems to be kept at a ‘necessary’ level. remote working, travel bans, and quarantines have drastically reduced commuting and business trips. professionals are concerned about travel safety and are asking their employers for better arrangements, while contemporarily, nursing worries about the consequences a more sedentary life could have on their careers. meetings in person as well as fairs, events and congresses have moved online during the emergency, only now trying to go back to entirely physical editions.
on the leisure side, confirming a trend noticeable before the closures, wanderers reconsider destinations. apprehensive about protocol changes and crises, discouraged to embark on international trips, they often opt for domestic and regional and provincial travel. closer to home, flexible, often destinations in nature where to stay longer.
more independent trips by car – domestically and abroad – are coming back.
in terms of content, a revolution in tourism distribution, digital marketing and online booking platforms facilitate the discovery of once-overlooked, less-celebrated locations and outdoor destinations. and people have noticed.
whether it is a conference, a weekend excursion, or a period of remote work, travellers research more. they read reviews, discuss with peers in chats, and choose destinations upon the activities that could be done once there. think: themed vacations – cultural, sports and wellness, rural & culinary tourism – as well as stays of purpose that reflect one’s set of values and beliefs – sustainable and regenerative travel, spiritual walks and retreats, red tourism, etc.
trips one could experience close to the local community, no longer with strangers in a group, but rather in the company of few friends, often family and ‘re-united ones.
this interest in ‘living’ – designing, experiencing, and documenting – travel as a fiercely independent, original and self-expressing practice seems an excellent opportunity for destinations, cities, and territories capable of capitalizing on their unique identity and their strong sense of place. it’s a mandate by the travellers that are already initiating a spontaneous re-arrangement of the offer and is distributing visits throughout a more significant number of territories, thus benefiting local economies.
to grasp the momentum, territorial ecosystems and stakeholders would undoubtedly need to invest in continuous learning to devise an aligned – omnichannel-style – an operational response that would undoubtedly benefit from new technologies – regarding marketing, communication, reservations and cancellations, payments, check-in, etc.
yet, we are believers technology and digital tools alone will likely not be sufficient in replying to changes in the clientele and its aspirations. not solely because digital fluency is unequally distributed across trippers’ demographics or because smaller companies – which seem to constitute 80% of the tourism system – will need some time to upgrade.
instead because clients are searching for an ‘osmotic’ experience of cultural value.
and particularly in times of uncertainty, their willingness to trust and choose a destination seems to be rooted in a desire to be respected, given care and attention, to ‘bubble up’ in a comfortable space. participate in learning. a space of mind’, a specific brand of service that can’t be exhausted exclusively in a digital dimension but needs first to be nursed offline through intentional care and effective communication – before, during and after the trip.
for this reason, there is an opportunity to foster new models that reveal and empower local communities: natural carriers of knowledge and care. ‘cultural’ models that would certainly need to be sustained by contemporary management tools but are, first of all, mindful of the fact that, before being a business, hospitality is “ more of a virtue – a barometer of civilisation.”
thus, ways of doing business that, in replying to the very request of the clientele for authenticity and identity, are inclined to invest in territories and, through inventive schemes, to re-engage workers and stakeholders as drivers of innovation in the tradition.
Aware of the changes and agreeing that we tend to overestimate the impact of changes in the short term and underestimate them in the long terms, we are starting a conversation about what ‘staying and going’ could be.
here diverse ways to understand and re-imagine travel and hospitality from multidisciplinary, geographically and culturally diverse standpoints.
cristiana schiavolin.
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appraisal. at present. is a collection of self-initiated, multi-disciplinary, community-driven research and articles about people facing businesses. it is produced by praxis team in addition to client work.