Crises accelerate social, habits and consumption changes. What was expected to happen in five years, happens in just one. The same thing is in tourism, where the transformations that are taking place are accelerating. The attacks on the twin towers accelerated the evolution in the use of digital for the management and commercialization of tourist services. In the months following the attack on the World Trade Center (2001) in New York, some important players, such as Swissair and Sabena, disappeared who were unable to manage the competition in an agile and competitive system and new giants were born.
Booking.nl was founded in 1996 and in 2007, it partnered with Priceline, creating Booking Holdings, the online booking giant we know. In the early 2000s, Ryanair took off, doubling the number of passengers in three years: with less than 10 million in 2001, it surpassed the mark of more than 20 million in 2004.
Even after the economic crisis of 2008, the tourism system came out with many changes. If 2001 sanctioned the personalization of trips, in 2008 the doors to experience tourism were opened, online communication made available to the general public, allowing new ideas – products that allow the traveler social and community experiences that allow to live and feel the culture place. Among others, AirBnB, born in 2008, which in four years surpassed the total of one million reservations on the online platform.
The 2020 crisis will also accelerate change. The resumption is not only linked to security protocols, but it will be important to have a market, which will not be the same as before. Intercepting developments, new products and the target audience is as important as ensuring health. The new markets will not differ only by origin or distance, but habits, opportunities and lifestyles will be added. Now we need to stop and look carefully: what was changing, what could favor and accelerate current trends? To reflect, I offer some ideas and starting points for developing tourism strategies and products: Global Welnes Travel Experience, Digital Nomads, Hurban Holidays (Feris Hurbanas). There can be a lot of space to work.