Professor of Dermatology – Lawyer – President of the Hellenic Academy of Thermal Medicine – President of the World Academy of Chinese and Complementary Medicine

Tourism recovery in the post-covid era

The plague of the covid-19 pandemic as a new plague, the over-information and the misinformation that subverts in all areas, create psychological and emotional fatigue in almost everyone, while the challenge of finding a way to exercise due to the lock down, leads more people to long for open spaces in the countryside, and nature trips are expected to be one of the biggest trends in 2021.

The future remains uncertain as the trends that emerged during the crisis are likely to continue in 2021. 2020 was an unprecedented year for the global hotel industry, which is why hoteliers, after the unexpected crisis, are preparing the hard way. of recovery to 2019 levels giving priority to cost savings in 2021 by increasing the focus on the direct channel to reduce commission payments to third-party accommodation channels.

Local tourism will continue to be crucial to the recovery of hotels with a growing number of hoteliers reshaping marketing strategies around local markets from next year as visitors demand increased communication at all stages of their travel experience with certified protocols. international travel is largely awaited in the near future, but hoteliers are adapting offers for the domestic travel markets to contribute to the local economy by investing in in-country travel experiences with environmental responsibility for economic viability.

Hoteliers must continue to pursue flexible cancellation policies in 2021, as people continue to worry about how the pandemic will unfold, even offering cancellation refunds for future stays, while avoiding liquidity shrinkage, to remain competitive. , but maintain price integrity mainly at Food & Beverage and vouchers, while hotel catering services should continue to discover new ways of serving customers. It is further imperative to invest in soft brands as a huge number of independent boutique Hotels want to join soft brands that are expected to grow significantly in the next five years as franchises.