On June 3, 2021, the Smart Talk was given, where we could share with our guests the different experiences they have witnessed around the reactivation of tourism. This discussion covered topics such as: the new profile of the post-covid tourist, the impacts generated by the pandemic on the tourism industry and the future impacts that may arise, the use of technology and its innovations in tourism, the processes being carried out by the private sector in order to reactivate its tourist activity, among other interesting points. Accompany us to continue reading this article please!
Among the guests we had in the talk are:
- Enrique Quiñones Couple. CEO at Viajes Pacifico
- Carlos Núñez. CEO & Founder of Kontiki Expeditions
- Jonathan Zelcer. President and Founder of Truly Panama S.A.
During the beginning of the exhibition of the talk, Enrique was able to share a very interesting and very useful graph about the new profile of the post-covid tourist that we must know and understand, in order to build, adapt experiences and/or redesign new experiences of tourism products based on the behavioral and psychographic characteristics of this new tourist in the market.
Changes in consumer behaviour?
After the explanation of this graph, Carlos shared his appreciation of this new profile of the tourist, who has already been attending in part its tourist company. He explained that this new tourist has a greater tendency to use tourist services that bet more on sustainability. On the other hand, he detailed that this new tourist having been locked up for so long by the current conjuncture, will seek to do nature tourism activities or rural community tourism as a way to escape the city and seek experiences based on relaxation and despair. Therefore, it is advisable to meet the opportunity of this new demand in a sustainable way, since there is the risk that it is a mass tourism that can put ecosystems at risk.
Continuing with the exhibition, Enrique told us about the impacts that tourism can suffer once it is more flexible in relation to the gradual disappearance of the pandemic. It made us reflect on how this new opportunity of tourism can also be a threat, since since many people want to travel, it can very likely happen that they travel at the same time coinciding with the destination, which would generate a tourist mass that can put at risk and alter for example natural spaces, ecosystems, nature reserves, archaeological sites, historic centers, among others. This is because the load capacity would not be respected. For this reason we must be very careful to respect the carrying capacity to preserve and take care of our tourist attractions in a sustainable way.
In relation to digital transformation and as this is constantly changing the tourism sector, Carlos for example mentioned how this is beginning to be used increasingly in yachts. Carlos told us that his tourist company (Kontiki Expeditions) gives a lot of importance to the innovation of the digital transformation to be able to satisfy all the demanding experiences of all tourists. As far as the yachts are concerned, Carlos explained that they have already implemented the use of 2 satellites connected to the yachts to be able to provide unlimited internet service in all rooms to all tourists who have to use their electronic devices to continue doing their remote work to through home office, or to be used for other purposes such as social media. They have also implemented the use of virtual reality and augmented reality based on offering deeper and enriching experiences. An example of this has been to use this technology for relaxation activities as a yoga class or meditation on the yacht platform.
Almost finishing the talk, Enrique could share about how the private tourism sector has been reactivated through key actions or strategies. Among them he mentioned that it is essential to be able to build a model of trust towards the tourist so that he can make a decision, the more information and up-to-date data we give you about the biosecurity policies that the private sector is running and the whole destination the more confidence we will be generating the tourist not only from the private sector, if not to the whole destination in order to proceed to a quicker recovery. Automation in purchasing processes together with suppliers is essential for the recovery of tourism. The redesign of new experiences and tourism products adapted to the reality of this new traveler. The use of innovation and digital transformation and so on to reactivate private sector tourism.
Finally the conversation ended with a series of questions where each of the guests could share their opinions and appreciations regarding their experiences in the reactivation of tourism
If you are interested or want to see this smart talk, we invite you to watch it and enjoy clicking on the following link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRFSMrVnqD8&t=2323s
We also invite you to access our homepage of Smart Tourism & Hospitality Consulting, where you can access, register and attend free of charge the talks and/or conferences we have about tourism. https://www.smart-thc.com/
