Tourism

DMOs in every continent are pulling campaigns, re-evaluating their role in their community and creating strategies to support the tourism sector when travel bans are lifted. But how can we ensure that sustainability is still a key to our thinking? Nanna Thusgaard, Senior Manager for Sustainable Tourism Development at Wonderful Copenhagen, shared how they are embedding sustainable goals at the core of their strategy.

In our recent survey looking at Place Branding for the 2020s, we asked our respondents whether their storytelling was rooted in place values or focused primarily on place assets – the answers suggested a slightly stronger focus on assets. The COVID-19 pandemic has given us an opportunity to pause and think about whether we want to continue on the same tracks we've been running along for the last five decades or if there's time for real change in the way that we think about what we are doing, and what our places stand for.

As we adjust to a COVID-19 world, we’ve got a real opportunity right now to rethink our approaches to tourism and embed a sustainable approach into our long-term strategy. How can we create a framework that helps to ensure we make sustainable decisions?

In late 2018 it was announced that the Mexican Tourism Promotion Council would be disbanded. A year and a half on, we spoke with Carlos Alberto González González, Director General of the newly relaunched Visit Mexico, to understand how they’re collaborating with industry partners as well as how data is enabling a low-budget promotion strategy during COVID-19.

We’ve been keeping an eye out for destination marketing and investment promotion approaches that walk the line between remaining true to their place brand identity and acknowledging the sensitivities of the COVID-19 crisis. These are nine of our favourites…

Singapore has been praised for its rapid response to the outbreak of COVID-19. We spoke to Keith Tan, CEO at the Singapore Tourism Board, to understand how they played a key role in supporting the Government's containment strategy and how they're supporting their stakeholders through the crisis and the recovery that will follow.

Is there a danger that we lose focus on sustainability in favour of quick recovery after COVID-19? Or is now the time to make real change, to take this global standstill and use it as a chance to determine how we can build more sustainable tourism and place economies?

While there’s no certainty on when COVID-19 lockdown measures will be relaxed across the globe, one thing destination marketers can control is how we prepare to move forward post-crisis. How can you shore up your domestic tourism strategy to promote long-term recovery?

5G has been in the pipeline since as early as 2008. Today, 5G is nearly in our grasp and 2020 will see the first roll out of commercially viable 5G in consumer devices. But what does it really mean for cities? For businesses? Will 5G herald the next wave of digital transformation or will we just be living in a faster version of our current society?

How do we move from looking to raise the number of bed nights to looking at the impact 'beyond tourism'? Karen Bolinger, Strategic Advisor at Best Cities, outlines how destination marketing organisations are working to track the social outcomes their events are delivering.