Has tourism unfolded during the summer of 2021 the way you anticipated It? Maybe Not?

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Issue 1: September 2021 (668 words/3 minutes)

Welcome!

It’s great to have you here.

Every issue, I will be sharing my different perspectives on the tourism industry and what is happening. We will look at some of the trends and issues impacting the industry, the winners and losers. As well we will look at some of the emerging opportunities and critical issues impacting the industry.

I hope you enjoy it, and most importantly, it gives you some thoughts and ideas and a different perspective for your organization.

Before summer had started, the tourism industry was brimming with optimism. We had been in a COVID-19 lockdown for over a year; consumers had money to spend and pent up demand. Secondly, the vaccine was here people were getting vaccinated, and by all press accounts, the number of infections and death was declining at a pretty good rate. What went wrong? First a variant, we were warned about it, but it seemed conceptual when we had the vaccine. Secondly, restaurants and hotel employment were not as rebounding as analysts had anticipated. Where did all the employees go? Why were people not going back to work? At one point, there were millions of open jobs. This created significant problems in service levels compared with consumer expectations and the overall experience.

· Throughout the summer, the variant roared back, and suddenly, press accounts reminded consumers of last year. More people were getting infected, deaths increased, and the country quickly split into two vaccinated and unvaccinated. This division was no way to bring a country together and encourage travel.