Will travelers think and behave the same post-Covid-19 as before? Some degree of change is likely, certainly in the short term and likely for some time to come. We might expect to see greater concern for personal health, fear of getting stranded, newfound focus on payment and cancellation policies, reduced travel budgets, and who knows what other attitudes may form — “is that product really right for me after what I’ve seen on TV?”
Tourism is resilient. All of us say it because it’s true. Sometimes we say it three weeks after a volcano resumes its normal slumber. Other times we say it three years after a massive earthquake or a terrorist attack. The timelines vary, but resilience prevails. But once-in-102-year pandemics are different. Travelers will travel again because they always do, but the industry has much to adjust for. The fragility of tourism is now on display.
This is an excerpt from an article by Randy Durband, originally published on Skift.