No Poorly Designed Waves

50 Bullet points from over 75 hrs of conversations with tour operators and travel and tourism professionals from 43 countries during period 10 March-5 April 2020.

• Take responsibility
• Accept the situation
• Overcorrect rapidly
• Do not wait to be right; take action.
• Speed is everything.
• Plan on no international travel until a vaccine. 
• Plan 3, 6, 12 months with no revenue
• Plan for future income to be 50% of past
• Borders are not opening soon and when they do significant restrictions.
• Transactions win, be as close to the sale as you can.

• Market the right travel product to the right audience will be critical.
• Your product or service will have to change to suit dynamic new rules on social distancing.
• Locations may open then close then open then close.
• Data for any given decision is infinite do not let it cripple you.
• Nothing happens for ten years then ten years occur in a week.
• The jungle is neutral again.
• A virus that kills millions but awakens billions.
• Moral leadership is real leadership.
• No not think about variables beyond your control, they will slow you down.
• Choice leads to hesitation, limit your options.

• If you do experience the worst disaster, you will be much stronger in the future
• No poorly designed waves.
• No cloud is misshapen.
• No mountain is the wrong size. 
• Endurance is vastly underrated. 
• If you do not believe the future will be better than the present, it will not be.
• Partnerships were vital before they are now essential.
• Three into one or two into one does go. Merge to survive.
• Do tours that you have to do not what you want to do.
• The market you have is the market you have. Make the best of it.

• Change the tour to suit the market you can have.
• If you are an international business with 20 destinations, you are now a local operator in 20 localities.
• Customer relationships are your single strategic advantage.
• You now have an abundance of the only valuable thing in life, time.
• Increase your digital footprint.
• Learn what you need to learn to improve your business. 
• There are no secrets. Read a book or speak to someone who knows.
• If you can survive this period in business, your business will survive anything.
• High Net Worth customers will be in huge demand.
• Private tours have taken on a whole new meaning of private.

• Direct businesses are managing better than indirect.
• If you have cash acquire other businesses in the next 6 six months, you will never buy cheaper.
• Cost of acquiring customers could increase dramatically.
• Nice to haves are no longer helpful to have
• Your core value. Can it be used in different sectors?
• Terms and conditions in the future will be different.
• Last-minute bookings will increase at speed.
• The travel industry will still attract investment, but it will be more interested in those that are transacting than ever.
• Recovery will be exceedingly uneven.
• Developing markets will be hardest hit.

My prediction for what it is worth. The economic impact of this is going to last much longer than anyone is currently planning. We are at the start of the worst global recession since WW11. However, since the jungle is becoming more neutral by the day those with leadership, endurance and courage combined with the digital era awareness; this new travel environment is going to present the opportunity you would not have got pre virus.

Notes:

If you have got this far thank you, amazing what lockdown is making people read. If you are in tourism and want a 1 hr free rescue and future planning chat book here https://calendly.com/peter-syme-1000-mile-journeys/help-operators-2020

What I wrote on 3rd March as we were at the start of this to give context to the above https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/disaster-just-opportunity-hiding-peter-syme-/

Discussing the above on a webinar here https://www.beabetterguide.com/Summit/

Townhall webinar https://www.arivalevent.com/events/arival-town-hall-coronavirus-pulse-study-and-open-discussion-on-how-are-operators-are-responding-come-ask-questions/

Podcast of the same webinar if you prefer listening to watching https://tourpreneur.com/coronavirus-impact-on-tour-operators-arival-virtual-town-hall/

A help resource a few of us in the industry who are grey are curating https://www.tourmageddon.com/

Social Distancing Experiences See Below! Are They a Thing?