The construction of demand scenarios is more complex without considering the history and it is necessary to reflect on the factors that may give, in the short term, more confidence to future tourists. The priority will be health security, not only in terms of the rate of infected and vaccinated people, but also of hygiene care in airports, aircraft, accommodation and tourist attractions, and the response capacity of health entities in each region. The European health card could be a good vehicle, but quality and attention to the tourist patient will count more. From my own experience as a traveller, I can give the example that the health service for tourists in a small town somewhere in Iceland may be better than in a seaside resort in Greece. It is therefore increasingly crucial to inform tourists in a simple and direct way about the health structures and services that exist and are prepared to receive them, in coordination between the private and public sectors.
All these doubts will lead to a slower and uneven recovery according to market positioning. Tourism accommodation with individual units, smaller and in a nature context, positioned and aimed at the younger segments and families, will possibly have a quicker recovery, and the more traditional, city-based, large and dependent on large leisure and MICE groups, perhaps a slower recovery. The existence of outdoor spaces will be considered an advantage and will result in a first choice.
Many are the predictions that now emerge from consultancies and institutions. The CEO of MMGY Global, who in his December 2020 article " Travel in 2021 will be better and worse than you think" makes a very optimistic and very complete prediction regarding consumer behaviour, but warns that tourists also have an increasingly ideological attitude: 32% of American travellers consider social and environmental practices as an important factor in their choice of travel.
In addition to the challenge of building scenarios forecasting market behaviour and aligning the respective actions in sales and digital communication, we are also facing a technological insurrection that is beginning to revolutionise operations.
During the pandemic and consequent economic crisis it became necessary to review processes, identify in detail all inherent costs and reflect on new forms of efficiency in the use of raw materials, including epis and productivity of human resources. The social distancing and the need to comply with all hygiene and safety rules motivated the investment in the digitisation of operational and customer relationship processes (digitisation and not digitalisation because we are not yet digitalising a sleepover and a restaurant experience, unlike an event and a meeting). A positive effect of this digital imposition is that it is no longer necessary to "educate" the customer and the employee for the need to use these technological tools.
However, it is crucial to retain that technology is only a means, so the return on this digital investment should be measured in the benefit and value it will bring to the customer and the consequent performance in the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the business.
The question that arises is what impact this technological introduction will have on the functions and tasks of tourist accommodation teams. It may be relevant to consider and prepare the teams for both hypotheses, that of a substitution between man and machine, and that of a transformation of the function. If we are looking for a change in the teams' roles, the question arises about what new profile is required and how current employees will be trained and mobilised internally for the introduction of digital technology in their day-to-day work: whether it is in digital communication with customers via chat, the definition of new upselling and cross-selling practices in digital, or the management and updating of digital content focused on the needs of each in-house customer.
Finally, we have the big challenge similar to those in other industries: How to leverage our and other digitally available data in relation to the profile and behaviour of our current and potential customers? How to transform this data into simple real-time information that is easily and quickly used by the operations teams in the customer relationship? And, suddenly, what can we expect from the 5G that is on its way?
This demanding and uncertain context is a crucial time to reflect, outline and start preparing the implementation of a future strategic plan that leverages the new digital tools and methodologies available. It is essential to understand the importance of data and information for decision-making, and to structure organisations for the culture of innovation because we are in a period of semi-return in the short term with high expectations for a full recovery in the medium term.
Personally, I am looking forward to travelling again in this transition period and to celebrating this first trip! I assume this will also be the case for our customers!
Article published originally in Publituris Hotelariamagazine
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