About

 

Floating eco-hotels, socially-distanced robots & hyperlocal experiences redefining #Tourism 2.0


Overview:

  • The vaccine rollout is dictating the speed of the return to travel, and technology will be crucial in Tourism 2.0, ensuring safety and efficient processes. 

  • Sustainable, regenerative and ethical travel is at the forefront, with travellers wanting to play a part in reducing over-tourism. 

  • Authentic human connectivity to local communities and businesses will drive tourism decisions by progressive travellers.

  • Countries are cautiously starting to invest in tourism again, with domestic travel at the forefront. Getting it right will be essential.


Tourism branding is close to our heart at KINDUSTRY, having seen the first-hand effects of tourism while working on rebranding the Caribbean region with 29 member states of the Caribbean, The Caribbean Tourism Organization, the Caribbean Hotel and the Tourism Association, The Clinton Foundation and Expedia Group. In the last number of years,  even prior to Covid, the Caribbean region has lost market share to other regions due to extreme environmental factors including devastating hurricanes and earthquakes, the disruptive nature of technology, and changing consumer behaviour. In 2019, we were able to develop a strategic and communications roadmap for a more resilient, sustainable and globally competitive regional branding. 

Today the world’s tourism industry is suffering and shifting due to the coronavirus pandemic, and is going to emerge with a new set of standards very much aligned with the platform that was conceived for the Caribbean region, itself having experienced severe economic, environmental and social challenges over the last decades. 


According to our research, the biggest changes in Tourism 2.0 include sustainable and regenerative tourism, hyperlocalism and technology enablers : 



Sustainable and Regenerative Tourism:


Reducing Over-Tourism - According to Booking.com, 54% of global travellers want to play a part in reducing over-tourism and 60% of travellers are interested in destinations where an increase in tourism would have a positive impact on the local community.

  • Alternative destinations- Expedia has seen a 200% rise in interest of Vinicunca (Rainbow Mountain) instead of Machu Picchu, highlighting an ‘alternative bucket list’ mindset to combatting over-tourism.

  • Airlines contributing to conscious travel - Easy Jet offset carbon emission by operating with net-zero carbon flights.

  • Alternative transport- Germany has cut long-distance train ticket prices by 10% to tackle the climate crisis and Swedish rail manager Trafikverket plans to introduce faster long-distance sleeper trains to provide a practical alternative to short-haul flights.

  • Animal conversation - The Rosalie Bay in Dominica is one of the most nature-centric resorts in the Caribbean and has a particular focus on some regular visitors to the island: turtles. The resort works closely with WIDECAST and has set up RoSTI – the Rosalie Sea Turtle Initiative, a program that engages residents and guests to help in the recovery of sea turtles. Rosalie Bay is also wind and solar powered and was built entirely by hand – a project that took more than 9 years to build.

  • Eco Hotels - Floating Eco Hotel in Qatar (below), and the Anthenea pods prime examples.

  • Regenerative Projects - ACAW Power and Neutral Fuels team up to use its Net Zero Biofuel™ for Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious regenerative tourism project on the Red Sea coast by 2030. This regenerative tourism project will be entirely powered by a range of renewable energy sources and is expected to prevent an estimated 500,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually for the 50 resorts with up to 8,000 hotel rooms and more than 1,000 residential properties.

Floating Eco Hotel in Qatar

 

Hyperlocalism:

  • Adventurous local experiences that transport travellers into the local environment will take the forefront as pandemics bring out thrill-seeking behavior - the Spanish flu, for example, led to “increased expressions of risk-taking” during the Roaring Twenties.  Amangiri (below) recently added the Cave Peak aerial stairway—a 120-step sky ladder suspended 400 feet above Utah’s rugged rock formations

  • Short-trip travel to easily accessible destinations with low population densities will top many travel bucket lists this year. Safe and closeby travel is favoured for the short term, encouraging “Staycations”- for example, Ireland’s ‘Make a Break For It’ domestic travel ad.

  • Supporting local artisans, businesses and talent have never been more important. The Marriott in Port-Au-Prince emphasis the local community at nearly every stage, from sourcing goods, food and amenities from local businesses to a weekly art market where guests can purchase works from local artists.

  • ‘Revenge travel’ to new destinations will be strong among consumers with larger spending budgets on leisure experiences that involve not having to wear a mask - particularly in nature.





Technology Travel:


  • Virtual Reality Travel - Jordan inspiring travellers to visit through VR.

  • Robots - Pepper and NAO Airport check-in Robot and Room service. Robots making social distancing easier in our covid-19 context.

  • Augmented Reality - Guide Bot - AR indoor navigation for museums and tourist spots.

  • Booking platforms - cleaning and safety protocols (including 24 hours booking buffers) through Logdify which is used by Airbnb, Expedia, Vrbo and Booking.com.

  • Digital Passport- Emirates Airlines is trialling an IATA Travel Pass, a ‘digital passport’ app for COVID-19 updates, vaccine info and test verifications. Starting in April 2021, Dubai passengers can app-validate their PCR tests directly with Emirates to facilitate check-ins. Countries and regions have embraced this methodology too - the European Union introduced a COVID-19 Vaccine Passport system. 

  • AI-powered apps will smartly calculate travellers’ carbon footprints and recommend greener, more sustainable alternatives - TripIt, for example.

  • Smart Hotel self-check-in technologies.

l






KINDUSTRY’S TAKE:



  • Community 3.0.: Travel is to become more than visiting a destination. Highly involved and immersive experiences will be in demand where travellers look to regenerative ways of visiting and impacting local communities on a deeper and even socio-economic level. 

  • There is an opportunity for national tourism boards, tourism providers, travel retailers, travel brands and restaurateurs to reposition their brands and to create imaginative hyperlocal experiences that imbue elements of local culture and cuisine that were previously overlooked. Experiences in culinary, wellness, culture/heritage and nature/adventure should ‘transport’ the traveller to a deeply immersed reality that is very different to their normal life. 

  • A thoughtful messaging and communications strategy will be imperative in order to break through from the clutter. Strong brand (offering) positioning and a thorough understanding of valuable audiences (archetypes), their (new) preferences, influences, and channels  of communication will drive more efficient marketing, engagement and conversion. 

  • Thinking about how your tourism related brand will evolve and compete without a comprehensive technology strategy is a high risk proposition. Technology will continue to inform travel and even with constituencies such as Boomers who, post Covid, have become increasingly comfortable with technology platforms and solutions.