Communications experts believe the coronavirus crisis will give destinations an opportunity to reassess how they market themselves and focus on aspects such as sustainability.
But one PR specialist said he feared such issues could “fall down the agenda” as the industry attempts to recoup lost ground.
Speaking in a Travel Weekly Webcast, Paul Charles, founder of The PC Agency, said there would be fundamental changes in how destinations promote themselves.
“They won’t be suffering from over-tourism anymore. Under tourism will be a key thing that they’ll need to talk about, how there is more space and how they’re more sustainable.
“There will be lots of great and positive things for them to talk about.”
Kuoni director of communications Rachel O’Reilly agreed, saying: “This is a terrible situation but we are seeing some positive signs.
“The industry had been grappling with some big issues, such as carbon emissions and climate change and over-tourism – all sorts of topics around sustainability. This had been really gaining momentum in the travel industry of late.
“So when the travel industry comes through this [Covid-19] and it will come through it, these are all things that I think need to be firmly on the radar. New Zealand for example (pictured) has already come out to say it will totally relook at its tourism plans.”
PR Week editor-in-chief Danny Rogers said: “I think we had a looming crisis in tourism and travel, that the level of irresponsible travel was becoming increasingly unsustainable and unacceptable. Whether or not Covid-19 will reset the balance, I don’t know.
“Consumers will be very, very keen to get the holidays going again, and companies will be very keen to get a capacity up.
“Whether or not that can be done while still improving the overall sustainability of the industry remains to be seen. It’s going to be tough. It may be that green issues fall down the agenda for a while as we try and recover. I hope not, but it’s a distinct possibility.”
Charles said he was encouraging clients including destinations and tourist boards to “think through what the second half of the year looks like in terms of rebuilding”.
“People will be booking again. They will probably be booking later this year and early next year, ready for next summer. So we need to be telling tourism boards exactly how to market themselves ready for next summer, and to tell consumers how they’re going to be different and how they’re going to change.”