Fighting the "Ghost Effect" - A call to action to the US Travel Industry

3 weeks - that’s all it took to go from skepticism and uncertain industry mood to national and international industry meltdown. For many of my friends and peers in Travel and Tourism, last week was the worst week they had ever experienced professionally, some of them even going as far as comparing it to the days post-9/11 or post-Katrina or post-Sandy. The upcoming weeks are probably going to be even worse, not because there are that many more cancellations to deal with but simply because dealing with the “ghost effect” is usually an even greater burden on morale: no inquiries coming in, nobody to reach out to to generate leads, no emails worth sending, barely any calls left to make with the exception of some difficult conversations to be had with about to be ex-suppliers and ex-colleagues. And that’s just for the lucky few still holding a job within our trade, as job insecurity becomes the norm.

The disturbance to the supply chain is such that there are currently no pool of buyers, too few products worth offering, and the existential realization that as essential as travel may be, it remains a fragile non-essential minor luxury in the face of a global shutdown.

I’ll leave it to marketers and researchers to tell us in a few months what were the reasons behind this hyper fast domino effect. From social media to politics to generational habits, I’m sure they’ll come up with plenty of interesting narratives to explain why our dear sector of activity time and again acts like a phoenix, burning to ashes before it can rise again.

But I have no interest in writing the Tourism industry obituary - circa 2020; I strongly believe we have collectively created and contributed to an industry meant for good and worthy of benefiting from a press on the “restart” button.

Ever since the cancellation of ITB, I’ve been wondering: how do we move forward?

Most of the US tourism industry leadership - CVBs, DMOs, Trade Associations and Business Districts - staring into the headlights of an unprecedented and unrecognizable disaster that was rapidly approaching, missed the best opportunity to act. With over 80% of the industry composed of small businesses (according to USTA) and over 50% of Tour & Activities companies being less than 5 years old (according to Arival research), providing constituents guidance that went beyond copy-pasted CDC/WHO recommendations would have made an enormous difference; time will tell how many small and large businesses alike could have survived the crisis had they been properly guided in their decision-making process a day or week sooner.

But there is no point crying over spilled milk. I’m hoping the current leadership in place can make amends by becoming the flag bearers, lobbyists and executives of drastic remediation measures.  

Some measures are simple but require financial and development investment which only those in leadership positions remain capable of facilitating; other initiatives are simply a question of accepting the reality of the situation for the sake of voicing a cohesive truthful message representative of both constituent and traveler sentiments.

I’ve thought of a few examples of initiatives and projects, for illustrative purposes:

A/ Provide Business Continuity advice, expertise and assistance to member and non-member constituents, with a clear emphasis on small businesses. This has less to do with saving jobs today and more to do with preserving the fertile seedlings of our industry’s ecosystem.

B/ Create an online job platform or optimize an existing one, for the industry unemployed and soon to be unemployed. It shouldn’t be limited to just connecting applicants to a currently non-existent job marketplace. It could also provide resources for applicants to gap the unavoidable wait: free or subsidized recommended continued education/online courses, industry related volunteering opportunities, and in this era of “gig economy” - small project-based gigs. The last 10 years has seen the emergence of an incredible pool of talented individuals who gave their whole to our industry; let’s make sure they can survive, grow and rejoin it with even more skills and talents to contribute to it when times are favorable again.   

C/ National, regional and even local online boards to discuss and assess in real-time the approximate starting point of recovery, based on close monitoring into demand and habits of both travelers and locals. Then pivot those online boards into virtual conferences, sales missions and trade shows so that we won’t have to wait for the typical industry “cycles” to get back in business.

D/ Mediate consolidation efforts: help businesses with similar interests to find ways to temporarily partner or merge peacefully during this unique time of shortage. 

E/ Write a new narrative taking into consideration the reality of repeat and redundant crises to help the myriads of new and innovative businesses deemed viable up until a month ago. Then connecting those businesses to investors from other sectors and lenders to whom you’ve provided this reading lens. Basically, become the marketers of your constituents at a much deeper level.

F/ Compel oversight bodies - from board members to politicians - to modify bylaws/charters/terms/mission statements of our institutions and associations; disaster preparedness isn’t something that should ever again be improvised.

It doesn’t matter if the recovery starts in 3 months, 6 months or 18 months from now - drastic initiatives require execution and action now. For those committed to Tourism, Travel, Attractions, Events, Entertainment, Landmarks and Activities, we have a duty to create such catalyst items for the future rebirth of an even stronger global tourism community.

I don’t know when to expect a positive conclusion to this industry shock, which is why I am voicing this call to action to all of you, hoping and praying we can all come together fast and be part of intermediary mitigating solutions in the days to come.  

May we all come out of this trial stronger, more resilient than ever before.

About the author: 

Pragmatic New York area resident, very proud father of 3 children stuck at home while schools and daycare are closed. Co-founder of a Tour & Activities marketplace meant to launch during ITB 2020 (VisitorTix.com / WhereTraveler.com). Founder of a Tourism-focuses Business Development Consultancy firm - with all its client projects currently “on hold” (Navew). Minority partner of a New York attraction (VR World NYC).