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‘Today we invite you to Stay Greater’; tourism office launches campaign to unite community

As the new coronavirus continues to impact communities in Southern Utah, many industries are feeling the financial effects. With travel bans and service industry health mandates in place throughout the world, the tourism and hospitality industry continues to bear the brunt of a rapidly changing economy. “The hospitality industry is kind of the lead, the face of what is going on, because they are being immediately impacted,” said Kevin Lewis, director of the Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office. Event postponements, including the Ironman North American Championship St. George which was set for May 2, have sharply impacted hotels, restaurants, shopping, entertainment and event venues, many of which have had to quickly adapt in the face of new restrictions. While it is easy to see how COVID-19 has changed the hospitality industry, Lewis said the reality is that those event postponements have a ripple effect throughout the entire economy. To that end, the Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office has launched a campaign aimed not only at supporting the tourism industry, but also bringing the Greater Zion community together to find unique and safe ways to support one another through this unprecedented time. The goal of the campaign is to unify and inspire people to take action in ways that are respectful of the health and safety of themselves and others. “Whatever your circumstance, stand where you are; lift where you can,” Lewis said, adding that now is the time to responsibly support local restaurants and businesses, reach out to family, friends and even those who might be strangers whose lives are being severely impacted by this. “Together, we’re greater,” Lewis said. And even though that doesn’t mean being together physically right now, Lewis said the community can still collectively band together in a common goal. “Do the kinds of things that you always do, that you’ve always done, in the ways that you have to do them now, given the new restrictions,” Lewis said. “Be very responsible in your activity, but don’t shut the door on the opportunity to help.”

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Calling on innovators and entrepreneurs to accelarate tourism recovery

In the face of an unprecedented challenge, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), calls on innovators and entrepreneurs to put forward new solutions to help the tourism sector recover from COVID-19. With millions of jobs at risk as the pandemic hits tourism harder than any other sector, the United Nations specialized tourism agency has included innovation in its wider response to the pandemic. That response has seen UNWTO work closely alongside WHO to mitigate the impact and place tourism at the centre of future recovery efforts and liaise closely with governments and the private sector to boost collaboration and international solidarity. The “Healing Solutions” challenge is launched in collaboration with WHO, further advancing the united response of the wider United Nations system to COVID-19. This global call for entrepreneurs and innovators asks them to submit ideas that can help the tourism sector mitigate the impact of the pandemic and kickstart recovery efforts. In particular, the challenge is aimed at finding ideas that can make a difference right away: for destinations, for businesses and for public health efforts. Ideas that are ready to implement Participants should be able to demonstrate how their ideas can help tourism in its response to COVID-19. Ideas must also have been piloted and be ready to scale-up, with a business plan in place and the potential to be implemented in several countries. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili explains: “Tourism is the sector that has been hit the hardest by COVID-19. Our response needs to be strong and united. We also need to embrace innovation. I call on all entrepreneurs and innovators with ideas that are developed and ready to be put into action to share them with us. In particular, we want to hear ideas that will help communities recover from this crisis, economically and socially, as well as ideas that can contribute to the public health response.” The competition is now live and applications close on 10 April 2020. The winners of the Healing Solutions for Tourism Challenge will be invited to pitch their ideas to representatives of more than 150 governments They will also enjoy access to the UNWTO Innovation Network, which includes hundreds of start-ups and leading businesses from across the tourism sector.

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Local tourism industry banking on rebound after COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted Wisconsin's third largest industry, travel and tourism, as much as, or more than any other. Whether business travel, conventions or people visiting our area, it's all nearly ground to a halt. These are truly unprecedented times for anyone working with the Greater Green Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau. "This time of year we're really normally gearing up for the summer tourism season, our advertising is placed and we're working on all of our promotions and the things we're talking to potential travelers about, we're just not doing that right now," says Brenda Krainik, Director of Marketing with the Greater Green Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau. Instead Krainik says, the focus right now is supporting local businesses that benefit from tourism, and reaching out to the local community. "In the case now, we're talking to people that are hear and sharing some things, maybe some suggestions like get out and go fishing, or go for a walk, find some of your local monuments that maybe you've never stopped and actually read what was on the monuments," says Krainik. With any travel highly ill-advised, Krainik says local hotels are nearly empty, and meetings, conferences and conventions scheduled for this spring are all but cancelled. "We're working with all of our venues to make sure that we can help re-book that business because we want the business to stay here, even if it's a little bit later in the year," says Krainik. And when it comes to tourism, Krainik says there remains hope for the most important time of the year. "Everything that we know and love for our summer tourism is still on the table, it's still something that we're planning for and we'll roll with the punches where we need to, and we will be here to support our community for now, but again turn our attention to the people who don't live here and welcome them back," says Krainik.

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No planes or cruise ships – a crucial regional industry will need aid

Airlines are cancelling up to 90% of flights due to the rapid decline in travel brought on by Covid-19. Most of the world is being encouraged, or ordered, not to fly, and mandatory self-isolation is increasing common anyone arriving in more and more countries. That’s if they are allowed to enter at all. The travel industry is taking an unprecedented hit, and that will extend to the tourism sector more broadly. The focus presently in Australia is appropriately on the domestic response to the unfolding health and economic crisis. But Australia’s long-standing overseas aid program also has a critical role to play in supporting the response in the region. That starts with helping fragile health systems to cope with this evolving crisis, which also reduces the chance of the further spread to Australia. But when the disease is eventually controlled and the recovery begins, industries around tourism will need support, else the flow on effects of Covid-19 will be even more severe. The tourism sector has employed tens of millions of people in the countries in Asia that Australia provides development assistance (by our calculations, based on data from the World Travel and Tourism Council and the World Bank, as many as 40 million workers are involved). For the Pacific, tourist numbers are comparatively much lower, however the tourism sector has been a growing share of GDP and the sector employs nearly 100,000 people in Melanesia alone (Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji). For many of those people dependent on the tourism sector, income diversification is rarely an option. Jobs in the tourism, including as drivers, hotel and restaurant staff, tour guides, transport operators and entertainers, generally go to low skilled or unskilled people. These people may migrate from rural areas to more urban areas in search of employment, and are in casual roles, which are highly seasonal and lack any sort of job protection or broader social safety net. The sudden and unprecedented drop in tourist numbers will mean sudden unemployment. Initial estimates suggest Covid-19 will cost Asia up to $115 billion in lost tourism revenue. Visiting people in remote and rural parts of Asia shows firsthand how the tourist dollar dictates whether or not children go to school, whether or not adults access healthcare, and whether or not a family of four lives in a safe and secure home, or on the street. Australia is blessed with universal access to high quality health care and sophisticated social security system that will help those affected by the pandemic with a safety net. Not all neighbouring countries are as fortunate. In economics, unemployment benefits are often thought of as an automatic stabiliser, kicking in when the economy deteriorates and people most need the support. It’s not often that the overseas development program is described in this manner, but in the context of the current health and economic crisis, it may be an appropriate way to think about what is needed in Australia’s response in the region. The aid program does not have the flexibility to pivot entirely to crisis response, but there is flexibility in the humanitarian aid budget. The immediate need in parts of Asia will be to ensure food and health supplies are available and accessible. Given many Australian development NGOs or their local counterparts have an existing presence in remote and rural parts of Asia, Australian aid can play an important role in getting supplies to communities in need. In the longer term, the pandemic points to the priorities that must be part of Australia’s new aid policy, especially the importance of helping build health systems and skills in the region, not just infrastructure. Support for developing social safety nets to see communities through future crises is also essential. At the same time, avoiding the demise of small businesses and sectors critical to livelihoods such as tourism is also vital to ensure regional stability, so as not to completely derail the development trajectory that had been underway. The cruise ships might not be welcome now. But in the months and years ahead, the dollars those tourist can bring will be essential to recovery from the potentially life-threatening economic impacts of a pandemic long after the health impacts are dealt with.

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Virtual tours of top UK tourism spots draw visits from people under lockdown

Britain's famous tourist attractions, from palaces and castles to galleries and zoos, have closed their doors to visitors because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, millions of people from around the world are taking virtual tours of tourism hotspots across Britain, the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) said Thursday in a new report. ALVA said millions of people are discovering the breadth, depth and diversity of Britain's visitor attractions through websites and digital galleries, science podcasts, virtual tours of the Houses of Parliament, through to web-cams of zoos and safari parks, as well as being able to take part in church and cathedral services and watching opera and theater. ALVA Director Bernard Donoghue said: "In the last week or so there has been an explosion in the number of people, here in Britain and around the world, virtually visiting the UK's top visitor attractions." ALVA had been scheduled this week to reveal its top tourism attractions of the year, but the announcement has been postponed because of the health crisis. ALVA said the British Museum, Natural History Museum, V&A, Science Museum and National Gallery have all seen a substantial increase in visitors to their websites. The number of visitors to the British Museum's website has doubled in the past two and a half weeks, while visits to the National Gallery's virtual tour pages are up almost 800 percent compared to last week, and 1,144 percent up over last year. The V&A's blog is up 147 percent week on week, while the Science Museum has seen a threefold increase in views for its games section. Britain's best-known cathedrals, from Durham to Canterbury are streaming church services. Zoo cams have also become popular sites for virtual visitors. Even William Shakespeare is proving to be a website hit more than 400 years after his death. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon is offering a video tour of the five Shakespeare family homes. Visitors can travel even further back in time to the early days of the Roman occupation of Britain around 2,000 years ago, by paying a virtual visit to the Roman Baths in the City of Bath. Emma Martin, senior curator at National Museum Liverpool's World Museum said: "Staying at home doesn't mean you miss out on visiting our museum. Thanks to public feedback on what people would like to see while our doors are temporarily closed, we've created a virtual tour of the World Cultures gallery with our friends at John Moores University." Science Director Dr Roger Highfield from the Science Museum in London has even published an in-depth look at the science of the coronavirus, exploring what we know and don't know about the virus and examining its ongoing impact. His work brings into sharp focus the biggest ever shutdown since World War II of Britain's famous tourist sites.

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COVID-19 and tourism partnership

As a global phenomenon, tourism encompasses activities to include visitor flows, visitor spending, and the international ownership of tourism businesses. It was projected that these, among other activities, would collectively facilitate international tourism growth in 2020 to surpass the 2019 figures of US$9.12 billion in total contribution of travel and tourism to global gross domestic profit, which is a representation of 10.4 per cent. With the onset of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) this projection will not be realised. The United Nations World Tourism Organization has recently lamented the expected decline and the impact it will have on global economy. They noted a decline by one to three per cent, which translates into a loss of US$30 billion to $50 billion from visitor spending. On a daily basis, COVID-19 continues to affect everyone on planet Earth. It is occurring simultaneously in multiple spheres and sweeping countries around the world without discrimination or consideration for geographical, political, religious, ethnic, or racial differences. The tourism industry is very dynamic, but the outbreak of COVID-19 was never anticipated. What's known is that tourism can be impacted by global geopolitical factors, trade tensions, and the global economic downturn that can all reduce the rate of international travel. Natural disasters are also inevitable, particularly amidst the discourse of climate change. The unknown COVID-19 emerged and stymied global travel and tourism trade causing international travel to come to a halt, hotels to close their doors, eateries to be experiencing reduced patronage, and the list goes. The manifestation of this macro-environmental force is now resulting in shocks in local, regional, and global economies as well as social and cultural displacements around the world. With tourism being the main engine for economic growth and development for many countries, especially the developing and underdeveloped ones, the big question is: What should these countries be doing at this time? Many of them are signatories to 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Prior to COVID-19, some of these countries remained despondent about achieving the SDGs by 2030 as they seemed unreachable because of the lack of international support and political will. What remains evident is that tourism has the potential to contribute to the achievements of all 17 SDGs. But, now that the industry is gravely impacted by this international shock, the other question is: Can the SDGs be achieved in 2030? Nonetheless, the management of COVID-19, during and after the pandemic, requires a collective and pragmatic approach, starting with SDG #3 to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for everyone at all ages. This sets the premise for achieving many other SDGs, such as the reduction of poverty and hunger. Specific to tourism, SDG #17 is very imperative. This speaks to the strengthening and revitalisation of Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. Realistically, this is required at all levels, not only globally, but at the local and regional levels as well. Particularly at the local/country level, tourism stakeholders are to be a part of the national action to overcome this adversity. No longer should corporate social responsibility (CSR) be a mere notion, but an altruist demonstration of tourism business' commitment to contribute to the actions by the Government in curtailing the spread of the virus. There should be an effort to maintain sustainable economic and social development among employees, their families, the local community, and society at large to deal with their lives during and after COVID-19. These are the people on whom the industry depends for the achievement of performance targets which ultimately contribute to the economic growth and development cycle. This cycle continues by reducing poverty and hunger, contributing to the development of infrastructure for health and education, and achieving a sustainably developed tourism industry and nation. CSR amidst COVID-19 goes beyond legal obligations; it is to further social good to ensure that lives are saved so that the human capital will be in place to regenerate the economy. Some will, however, argue that it is not their responsibility, but the fact is that tourism is a people industry/sector. It relies on people to provide the products and services being offered to visitors and tourists. Without people and interaction tourism will not happen. Others may argue that this is the time to change the normal to robotic services. The counter argument, however, is that robots are without affective traits for the display of emotions, which is a critical component of the 'people factor' in the tourism industry — this is worthy of exploration in another discourse. And still, others will argue that with a large percentage of multinational corporations there may not be patriotism to the country in which they operate to be involved in altruism for COVID-19 eradication. Despite all this, what is most important at this time is for tourism businesses to become a part of the solution in eradicating COVID-19 through CSR. What is expected is the demonstration of what is right and what is responsible in assisting governments in saving the most important resource — human capital — and reviving the industry. Additionally, the management of infectious diseases is to be added to the hazard risk management plan, both at the business and country levels, to mitigate future occurrences and impacts. Being prepared before a crisis happens can reduce its impact. Studies have shown that the impact of infectious diseases on tourism is very devastating, but it can be mitigated if there is ample pre-crisis preparation as demonstrated in the Asian countries in 2005 when the tourism industry partnered with the Government to prepare for the Avian Flu. On the other hand, countries impacted by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) were not prepared and, hence, their industry was severely impacted. In concluding, this is a call for tourism businesses in Jamaica, particularly the larger ones, to assist the Government in addressing the needs of the many hospitality and tourism workers who are now out of their jobs due to closure or reduced operations. 'Social good' now for future prosperity. COVID-19 will pass and the tourism industry will rebound. The resilient Jamaican people will be needed to deliver the hospitality and tourism services.

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