Travelling in a pandemic

There are many examples that show the extraordinary resilience of tourism actors and destinations. One example is hotels which have been transformed into provisional clinics in order to reduce the pressure on hospitals and increase the capacity of beds available to care for patients with COVID-19. In Madrid, for instance, there were up to 14 of these.

Many restaurants have learnt to adapt both their facilities (installing open air terraces, improving ventilation and installing separation panels) and the way they operate, such as by digitizing menus or launching new delivery services. Innovation has been key.

The Canary Islands, for example, are heavily dependent on tourism, which accounts for 35 % of GDP and employment. During the pandemic, they reoriented their strategy to attract teleworkers, with the slogan: 'The office with the best climate in the world'. Attracting remote workers will enrich the structure of their tourism model and will be an opportunity to refresh the destination brand, in addition to attracting highly qualified professionals.

Technologies such as drones, sensors with real-time counting capacity or mobile apps have also helped to better manage flows, avoiding crowds on beaches, which has allowed their successful use in safe conditions. We truly are entering a new era of tourism - one that is innovative, agile and more in harmony with both what travellers and the environment want, to create richer, more valuable experiences.