Coronavirus impact on tourism: experts opinion
We are now going through a hard time. A month ago, who would have thought that someone would tell us that we will not be able to leave our houses, that we would not go back to our jobs, or hang out with friends and family; that we will be afraid of our health and hope for a miracle to save the human race? Now, it’s our reality… For me, as a travel manager and blogger, it is very important to analyze the impact of coronavirus on tourism and get the opinion of other experts in order to have a complete picture of where we are now and what to expect later.
My experts, people of different professions, nationalities, and ages but all of them in one way or another connected with the tourism industry. They have been asked to answer three questions:
- How has your daily life changed since the coronavirus outbreak?
- How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the tourism industry?
- What advice can you give to travel bloggers, managers, and travelers in today’s tourism crisis?
A month ago, Demetris and I enjoyed our vacation in Rome and Naples (Italy). We just got back to Greece when the coronavirus outbreak in Italy began. Despite the fact that we were in southern Italy, I was suspended from office work for two weeks. Well, after that, the situation worsened and our tourist office closed until an indefinite time. I’ve lost my main job, which means that the time has come to create and develop new projects that I am currently working on.
It’s hard to calculate how much the coronavirus pandemic affected Greece’s travel industry and economy. For sure, it has had a huge impact, since tourism takes a leading place in the country’s economy. And even if the virus is finally defeated by summer, it will be the worst tourist season for Greece compared to other years.
Many tourists will still be afraid to travel in 2020, which means that the tourism sector and all who work in it will be at a loss. By the way, Ι had a trip to Sicily in March, and I’ve decided not to cancel it but postponed till September. September is also a great month to spend your vacation in Greece. So, don’t be afraid to make your travel plans for later. Although travel bloggers have a lot less work now, we must continue to inspire travelers further. Our life is an endless journey, so let’s dream now and travel later!
Mansoureh Farahani (England) – travel journalist & filmmaker
http://travelwithmansoureh.com
How has your daily life changed since the coronavirus outbreak?
” I usually plan my trips months ahead, some are work-related such as attending conferences and meetings while some are for creating content. I had a busy schedule for this month, March and the upcoming months. I had to cancel some of my trips due to all cancellations. I know this would be temporary, so now I am focusing on the work that can be done from home like editing photos, writing articles and creating videos. I don’t know when I can start travelling again, but I am sure I will do it soon.”
How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the tourism industry?
“The outbreak affected not only the tourism industry but the whole global economy. Unfortunately, travel and hospitality are two of the most affected businesses. Borders are getting closed, events are being canceled, people are cancelling their trips and flights. Airlines have to cut their flights. As a result, fewer people moving around internationally, so restaurants and hotels will be empty for a while and there won’t be jobs for taxi drivers either. Public transport will suffer too. If the outbreak continues, we will see more businesses collapse if the governments don’t bail them out”
What advice can you give to travel bloggers, managers, and travelers in today’s tourism crisis?
“I would recommend everyone to be wise, concerned but don’t panic. It is time to keep a distance from Media and Social Media. We as a blogger shouldn’t give advice to people about travelling or not travelling during this period. The only valuable sources are WHO and official sources. They have access to all the data and scientific reports. We bloggers are like other people know what we see and we read on news, so it is better to stay calm and plan for the future after the crisis.”
Adam Coleman (the USA) – IT manager & travel blogger http://adamstravels.net
How has your daily life changed since the coronavirus outbreak?
“It has changed because every form of life has been affected and things that I found fun have been removed. Traveling internationally is impossible, big cities are being closed in America and even sports are canceled. Watching TV isn’t entertaining either. Everyone is forced to stay home and do nothing which makes for a boring society.”
How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the tourism industry?
“Going anywhere that I find interesting is impossible. I am extremely worried if international travel will return to what it was before. Airlines are struggling to survive especially the discount airlines. I personally love traveling in Europe and the low-cost flights made going country to country so affordable. There are real questions if the airlines travel agencies and other businesses that profit off of tourism will even exist. The economic impact will be tremendous.”
What advice can you give to travel bloggers, managers, and travelers in today’s tourism crisis?
“Unfortunately, stay home. We tried for weeks to overlook this virus but the world around me takes this situation way too seriously and they have started closing borders. I had plans to leave the country and the day before my flight, Trump banned international travel and I could see the writing on the wall. ”
Angelina Koftoun (France) – Senior Sales Manager in Hotels Barriere.
How has your daily life changed since the coronavirus outbreak?
“Given that I live in Paris my daily life has changed dramatically. Right now I am working 100% remotely from home as is all my company. We are not allowed to leave the house unless a) we need to go to the supermarket, b) we need to walk the dog or have a quick run near the house, c) we need to go to work – but this is only for those who can’t work remotely and they have a written agreement from work and d) to buy food for an elderly person.
For every time we need to go out we need to have a written declaration document signed and explaining why we are leaving the house.
So it’s quite different to be stuck at home, not being able to see friends, colleagues etc. At the same time, I cannot say this is very bad. I finally have the time to catch up on books I have been wanting to read for a long time but never had the time. I have the opportunity to slow down my life rhythm, think more about my mental and physical health. Enjoy more the little things in life. Spend more quality time talking with my family and friends, even if done remotely via Skype. So as much as life has changed, I see it as something positive.”
How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the tourism industry?
“The industry has been affected very strongly. Most countries have closed borders for travel. Almost all hotels in Italy, France, Spain and closed and will continue closing. This means big financial losses for the hotels and of course the travel agents/tour operators as they cannot send clients to travel anymore. But the tourism industry is always the most volatile to any changes politically and economically. This is an unprecedented health crisis and we project that at least for another 3-4 months the travel industry will not be back to normal.”
What advice can you give to travel bloggers, managers, and travelers in today’s tourism crisis?
“To stay calm and take it one day at a time. There is no point to stress over things that we cannot control. We cannot control how the crisis will evolve and when it will stop. What we can control are our minds and actions. I would advise to start planning the future, after the crisis. To think how we would like to improve the work that we do. How we can innovate customer service. How we can differentiate our business from others once travel resumes. To look at all our existing business processes and rethink them, improve them. Work on our websites. On our creative files. Basically, to do everything we always wanted to do in the business but couldn’t because of daily urgencies.”
Callie Kigitzi (Greece)– travel blogger & co-founder of Anthomeli and the Greek Travel Family – Member of Travel Bloggers Greece www.anthomeli.com & www.greektravelfamily.com www.travelbloggersgreece
How has your daily life changed since the coronavirus outbreak?
“Well, being a family travel blogger is not exactly the same as being a couple or a single travel blogger. Respecting our child’s school curriculum, we don’t travel so often (usually once in a month) and we usually organize trips for the near future (only up to three or four months ahead). So the coronavirus outbreak found us canceling only two trips and fortunately not in the near future (so, actually hoping that we might be able to reschedule at least one of them). We decided from the very beginning to respect the #stayathome calling and even though I and my husband are freelancers the decision to protect ourselves and our family was stronger than anything else. However, the economic impact was big, but this is another issue! So, now we stay at home, we try to work from home and enjoy the gift of life which is given to us and our daughter, while other people are not so lucky.”
How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the tourism industry?
“The tourism industry is a sector that dominates not only in Greece, which is a purely touristic country but also worldwide. It is an industry that consists an economic driving force and it is connected to hundreds of other industries, such as supply or food companies. So, as we all understand, the impact is huge and the chain reactions might be devastating. Thousands of people have lost or might lose their jobs and especially small businesses might not be able to be run again. However, the problem is not “now” but what will happen in the future as we don’t know how much time will be needed to return to where we were and how many people will be able to “survive” from this economic impact.”
What advice can you give to travel bloggers, managers, and travelers in today’s tourism crisis?
“Well, I would advise them to make a step back and enjoy the ride. I know, this is contradictory to what I said before about the devastating consequences but I think that we should see the positive side. And the positive side is that we are alive! I know that many of them earn their living from blogging and the travel industry but I think that as humans who have seen a lot of things around the world we should first respect nature, humanity and of course ourselves. So, I think this time of “no-travel” is the time to work on everything we have seen so far, mentally and practically. Take your time, enjoy your house and be inspired for your next trips.”
Giorgos Karagiannis – Epirus Adventures (Greece) https://www.epirusadventures.com/
How has your daily life changed since the coronavirus outbreak?
“Our life changed dramatically. We are following the instructions and staying in our houses. All the reservations canceled but we are still working from our houses and when the situation recovers we will be ready to return back to normal routine and welcome the people who want to travel in Epirus.”
How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the tourism industry?
“It’s a huge problem for us because the main industry of Greece is tourism. For example, the seasonal hotels will not open in March as usual and all the activity companies and tourism offices has cancellations till May. In general, tourism has been affected the most.”
What advice can you give to travel bloggers, managers, and travelers in today’s tourism crisis?
“The first thing is to stay in our houses, to protect ourselves and other people. Although we have to continue our work, to be ready for the next step because the crisis will pass and traveling never ends.”
Einat Greittser (Israel) – travel blogger https://graitser.co.il
How has your daily life changed since the coronavirus outbreak?
“Since the virus outbreak my life was changed because my son is at home and going to school. I am not working because I was at the same train as one of the sick people so I had to stay at home. And of course, I hadn’t gone to Italy for the TBEX.”
How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the tourism industry?
“I think it’s affected the international tourism industry and it’s basically gone. All the flights from Israel and to Israel were canceled and all the hotels are closed.”
What advice can you give to travel bloggers, managers, and travelers in today’s tourism crisis?
“The only thing I can advise for travelers is to plan what is the next place that they are going to travel.”
What is your opinion? Be free to share in the comment.
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Limitlesstravelling_withK
Hi, I am Katerina, a multinational girl who currently lives in Athens, Greece. From a very young age, I can remember myself involved and surround by tourist activities, and it became a passion of my life.
4 Comments
zefi
I agree with all the thoughts you have regarding how this virus will affect the economy of the entire world, more so Greece where many businesses won’t survive. Greece has still been struggling with the economic crisis and this is the last straw for a lot of people. I don’t know what the future will look like. All we can do is stay positive and see the best we can in the situation.
z
Limitlesstravelling_withK
yes, it’s great damage to the Greek economy( We can only wait and hope for the best. Stay safe and healthy, Zefi!
Angie Moon
My brother is a hospitality major and he’s not too worried, but it’s obviously had an impact on the industry he’s studying in. He was hoping to get an internship in his field this year working at a hotel, since they are a required part of his course, but I don’t think he will be able to do it this year (not unless he’s extremely lucky). His school, in fact, changed the internship requirements from 3 internships to 2 plus one careers class. He’s going into his third year of university in September so I’m sure he’ll have time to fulfil the internship requirement and he’s in a touristy place so there are plenty of jobs out there, but tourism won’t be the same again, that’s for sure. He said ultimately he doesn’t necessarily want to work in the industry, but rather do something else.
Limitlesstravelling_withK
Dear Angie, thank you for sharing your brother’s experience with us! I hope that everything will change and he will get an internship in the tourism industry.