Many people are touting the vaccine as the saviour for our “new normal,” but this perspective is only reserved for those with privilege. The author suggests that if the tourism industry is serious about putting people first, then now is not the time to get on an airplane and take a trip. Instead, it is the time to support local businesses and to pressure local governments to financially support the tourism companies in our own communities.
As a result of overtourism, communities often choose to limit tourism at a destination. However, whilst many communities are concerned with ‘overtourism’, undertourism can be a bigger problem for many others. These communities dream of economic development, and with it jobs and opportunities. Either way, the host communities should be able to choose their vision of ideal tourism development.
The crises of 2020, particularly the pandemic and violence against Black Americans, have caused many travellers to rethink how and where to travel. The recent rollout of vaccines gives some hope that they may be able to enact their plans sometime in the next year or two – and shift towards more values-driven travel.
The tourism industry’s immediate focus on recovery is understandable but the lack of a long-term environmental vision is damaging to both the industry and the planet. An urgent rethink of the industry’s business model and overall purpose is required. Travel should be closer to home, slower, and with a positive contribution at its core.
The pandemic offers the unique opportunity to reflect on the reality behind our exotic vacations and break the cycle of exploitation. Central to this would be an overhauling of labour systems, the introduction of labour and cultural sovereignty and measures to protect host communities from the results of a “vaccine apartheid”.
AHLA Foundation, the charitable arm of the American Hotel and Lodging Assn., announced the distribution of nearly one million dollars in scholarship funding for students at hospitality programs around the country.
