What can developed alpine tourism countries expect after SARS-CoV-2? Insights from a "Swiss" perspective

 This contribution is an English transcript of an interview with Südostschweiz, a major media outlet in Switzerland. The original version can be found at «Der Elefant im Raum bleibt bestehen und harrt einer Lösung» | suedostschweiz.ch.

Please note that this talk was recorded before the Russian attack on Ukraine. It topicalizes the immediate and medium-term challenges tourism in Switzerland faces. Many of the assessments in this talk are also applicable to similar contexts, such as in neighboring countries.

Productivity: The Achilles heel in tourism and hospitality

In addition to the scarce production factor "capital", another one is now becoming scarce in many countries, such as in Switzerland: labor. But the elephant in the room is hardly ever named: lack of productivity. Some thoughts on that issue.

The pandemic has almost brutally exposed the lack of attractiveness of tourism and hospitality professions. To put it briefly: Those who find or have found something "better" are leaving or have already left - perhaps forever. Others may not even include these professions in their future plans. The reasons for this are well known: Compared to other sectors, there are often harsh working conditions, coupled with a lack of long-term and increasingly uncertain prospects - and often with rather modest wages and benefits.

AIEST Consensus on tourism and travel in the SARS-CoV-2 era and beyond

 A recent Consensus of the AIEST - International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism - provides a structured overview of the opportunities and challenges arising from the pandemic and its aftermath for the various actors in tourism.

What kind of business travel will "survive" the pandemic?

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has also brought business travel to a standstill. Estimates are that 20% - 50% will never return. How big the collapse will be at the end of the day is of little interest, as conditions for such trips are still very volatile. It is much more important to consider what attributes of a "business" are likely to continue to drive travel in the future.

The future of tourism with and after SARS-CoV-2: Situation assessment and tactical as well as strategic considerations

The Research Center for Tourism and Transport at the University of St. Gallen (which I lead) - together with colleagues from practice and academia - has made a third situation assessment on the topic of "Tourism in Times of Pandemic". The nearly thirty theses (see below) presented there allow only one conclusion: The transition period to normality, which will hopefully begin soon, will be bumpy and take a long time, but it will also open up many new opportunities. But there will be a New Normal in which tourism once again becomes an international growth factor, because travel is a basic need.

You can find this report (in German!) at
https://imp.unisg.ch/de/imp-publikationen/2021/tourismusreport-iii.

Theses: