As the world eases into a post-COVID-19 crisis world, a new survey is starting to reveal some key tourism challenges that governing bodies and local tourism industries should start addressing in the coming seasons.
The survey is the output of Leger, a Canadian-owned marketing research firm that has worked together with the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta to pinpoint data and analysis that will help with the pandemic rebound.
“Arguably no industry has been more severely impacted than the travel and tourism industry,” the survey explains. “The current tourism sector situation is the worst that the industry has ever seen. It is more dire than the impact experienced after 9/11, SARS and the 2008 economic crisis combined, with recovery forecasted to take at least two to four years to return to pre-pandemic levels.”
As outlined by the study, the top challenges are recruitment challenges, inflation, public health guidelines, and visitor numbers. It also suggested that the food and beverage industry was the most hard-hit among other subsectors. Members of that subset faced issues like skilled recruit shortage, a reluctance among previous employees to return, and government subsidies.
“This survey gives us a baseline, or even benchmark, for how our industry emerges from the hard beating that was COVID-19 and for how we recover and get ready to welcome Canadian and overseas visitors this summer,” explains Darren Reeder of the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta.
The association adds that this “first-of-its-kind survey” will happen semi-annually to aid decision-makers in assessing and repairing various pain points in the tourism industry. The group hopes to help players, especially small businesses, in the visitor economy bounce back from over two years of border closures, lockdowns, and restrictions.
The survey results from over 187 tourism operators giving their feedback on the harrowing effects of COVID-19 on their mode of business. Of the respondents, 28% came from the Calgary vicinity, 26% from the Canadian Rockies, 18% from Alberta Central, 20% from Alberta South, 13% from the Edmonton area, and 13% from Alberta North.
