COVID-19

COVID-19 shines light on sector

“It is clear, if there is going to be a year of the staycation, this is the year it’s going to happen” Deirdre Wells OBE, CEO of Visit Kent and Go To Places told us in the most recent In Focus podcast series from Hospitality Insights.

As one of the few Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) to sit on the Tourism Industry Emergency Response Group (TIER), Wells is able to feed the experiences of businesses in destinations directly through to government and to relay the conversations coming out of government back into industry. Wells noted the recognition that tourism and hospitality has achieved during the crisis as one of the biggest industries in the country was: “Something we have struggled with getting traction from politicians on previously.”

Wells explained that both Visit Kent and Go To Places have moved from crisis mode into planning for recovery and were actively supporting businesses in preparation for reopening. She praised the innovation and adaptability of businesses. “A rediscovery of local providers and local produce has emerged as well as a real missing of local pubs, coffee shops, bars and restaurants. There is an appetite to support local businesses which we really hope is maintained as the industry starts to reopen. The crisis has shown that our local tourism and hospitality businesses are the heart and soul of communities. The first stage of re-emergence will be to continue to promote a hyper-local experience.”

Conscious of the need to encourage people to move about when restrictions are lifted, Wells and her team are working on subtle consumer messages to reassure and help get businesses open and welcoming visitors.

Trends towards unique experiences and a ‘slower tourism’ look set to continue and an active move to disperse tourists equally between honey pots and more rural parts of a destination coupled with an extension of the season to create less intense visitor numbers in certain months as well as ensuring tourism and hospitality businesses are sustainable year round are all messages being communicated.

Wells concluded by stating that her hopes for the sector in a post COVID-19 world were a continuation of the recognition of the hospitality and tourism industry by both communities and government.

Deirdre will be speaking at The Annual Hotel Conference (The AHC) taking place later this year and contributing to the panel discussion ‘In Hindsight: Lessons Learned From the Biggest Crisis of the Century’. For more information on The AHC, please visit www.hospitalityinsights.com/ahc