– Dr Mei-Na Liao
Head of Engagement & Business Development, Programme Director MSc International Business
The University of Birmingham Dubai
There is no doubt that tourism is one of the sectors most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The UN reported a staggering 97% decline on inbound tourism and IATA reported an 80% drop in flights compared to April 2019 with an uncertain and slow recovery for the next three years.
This catastrophic fall in traditional tourism over such a small period of time has had a devastating impact to local and global economies, especially for countries and places where people’s livelihoods are dependent on tourism and its associated economic activities. In June, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN WTO) estimated a loss of nearly 1 billion international tourist arrivals, amounting to over a $1 trillion in export revenues and hundreds of millions of jobs, the scale of which could potentially be even worse if the pandemic is protracted over months and even years.
While the stark economic impact of the event are immediately clear, many are considering the implications of this drastic reduction of tourism on wider society and the environment at large. During the course of the pandemic we saw, countless of examples of people re-discovering and re-connecting with nature, able to hear birdsong clearly, delighted by the seeing wildlife encroaching into human spaces, and the environment recovering through clearer skies and waters, and cleaner beaches.
Throughout the world, the tourism industry has had a tendency to focus on the economic imperative, which has led to negative socio-environmental consequences. For instance, Venice, as an extreme example, became a victim of its own popularity and struggled with ‘over-tourism’, mass tourism and a steady decline of local residents who have been increasingly fleeing the tourist invasion (CNN ). The city staged its own funeral in 2009 when the local population dropped below 60,000 (The Telegraph), which is less than a third of the population after the World War II. At the same time, the city’s local government attempted to address the destruction brought about by ‘overtourism’ and in particular the cruise ships damaging the delicate eco-system of the lagoons. The pandemic has helped the city recover from some of the damage (The Guardian) and local residents reclaiming their city. Many now see the pandemic as a catalyst to rethink mass tourism and try to create a new type of sustainable tourism for the city.
As potential tourists, now every one of us has to grapple with the stringent travel restrictions imposed by the pandemic, and our own needs and desire to travel. In the face of the measures imposed such as Covid-19 testing, social distancing, quarantines and risks of been stranded overseas, we are finding ourselves having to re-think our expectations of and pleasure we derive from travel.
At the same time, the tourism industry are exploring all sorts of alternative options to give tourists the experience of travelling within the physical restrictions and measures of the pandemic. For instance, some travel agents are offering virtual experience packages to their customers, many museums and national parks around the world, such as the Vatican museum, the Louvre, are offering virtual tours that allow visitors to explore their collections and grounds through VR. You can now travel through the Grand Canyon from the comfort of your living room. The industry is also catering for children – for instance, in Taiwan, Songshan Airport is offering the virtual experience of being on a plane for boarding a fake flight. The Australian airline Qantas went a step further selling out of 134 tickets in 10 minutes for a 7-hour ‘flight to nowhere’. Many countries have also experienced the increase in staycations where locals are rediscovering domestic destinations and local attractions in their own countries.
The alarming destruction wrought on the natural environment and local socio-cultural life in tourism destinations around the world have been well documented for years but with little effective change. However, the enforced restrictions on travel and movement by the COVID-19 pandemic has for the first time allowed us to collectively pause and reflect on the issues that have been raised by environmentalists and social cultural observers for years.
Researchers have been able to quantify and individual have been able to directly witness the impact of human activity on the 
environment around them. The COVID-19 pandemic for all its tragic and disastrous consequences has provided the opportunity society, business and government to rethink our collective future and the way forward (Journal Geographies). For tourists and the industry, the pandemic must make us re-think the routine annual ritual of overseas holidays, and perhaps re-consider overseas travel as a privilege rather than an expectation, and explore more imaginative and valuable ways of experiencing travel and tourism.
Notes to editors
- The University of Birmingham is ranked among the world’s top 100 institutions, its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 6,500 international students from over 150 countries.
- The University of Birmingham Dubai delivers the highest-quality education underpinned by a growing research focus in a leading global educational hub. It opened to students in September 2018Â – a global university with a civic outlook and committed to contributing to UAE society.
