Planning for Post-COVID Tourism: Lessons from the SARS outbreak - 7 APRIL 2020 - Dalberg
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Planning for Post-COVID Tourism: Lessons from the SARS outbreak 7 APRIL 2020
Preliminary
Potential impact scenarios:
What could COVID-19 mean
for tourism?
2Preliminary
The impact of COVID-19 on tourism could take one of three courses
based on past experience
3. Longer-term behavioural
1. Near-term rebound 2. Sustained mid-term impact
shifts
Decline in global tourism numbers COVID-19 continues to spread, Regardless of the when the
is certain and is already being with difficulties containing and COVID-19 scenario resolves, there
experienced. managing the illness. are deeper implications on tourism
–with potential for longer-term
As management of COVID-19 With this, tourism continues to supply and demand shifts.
improves, the worst-case scenarios drop in subsequent months, both
do not materialize. through the peak season, and The tourism industry consolidates,
deterring people from booking with uncompetitive players forced
Tourism still sees significant short- travel for late 2020. In parallel, both out of businesses, while strong
term impact (for 1 – 3 quarters), but tourism and the wider economy players acquire sub-scale players.
rebounds in mid- to late-2020, as suffer a demand turn.
witnessed with other crises and Demand patterns shift, as rising
epidemics. With this, depressed demand environmental sentiment combined
persists into early 2021 (with mid- with the experience of COVID-19
2021 being the soonest peak travel lulls encourage people to re-
demand resumes), as travellers think their need to travel –
choosing to stay closer to home. travelling in slower, eco-conscious
ways (if they travel at all).
As the global health responses prevent more people from travelling, Scenario 3 looks increasingly likely–
increasing the demand for governments, SMEs, investors, and others to strategize on minimizing tourism
industry losses and re-shifting growth action plans based on new global realities.
3Preliminary
Industry responses to COVID-19 should focus on three sets of actions
• Ensuring that tourism operators drive high standards of public health response –
Immediate e.g., increased levels of deep cleaning / disinfection, hygiene standards amongst
tourism public tourism workers, improved PPE (masks) for customer-facing workers
health responses • Visibly signal that a country is doing everything it can to make it as safe as possible
for tourists who opt to continue to travel during the COVID-19 crisis
• Identify and understand which existing operations and current investments are
Short-term likely to suffer as a result of the downturn, and what needs to be true to enable
investment them to continue
protection • Design a wider suite of interventions designed to protect the viability of operators
interventions and investors during a potential downturn, enabling a country to drive improved
trade balance through tourism
Long-term • Plan for the rebound of the global tourism sector as COVID-19 impact subsides –
tourism sector with longer-term investments that improve a country’s competitiveness
growth • Re-shape demand generation plans to ensure a country is well-placed to capture
interventions increased travel after COVID-19
4Preliminary
As an example, a rebound strategy should focus on long-term responses
to re-build demand and attract investment
Tourism investment during a downturn faces specific challenges:
• Demand shocks place significant strain on the viability of existing operations
• Desire to invest decreases amidst a combination of uncertainty and capital scarcity (particularly amongst local investors
with less free cash to invest in new developments)
Response Strategies
The focus of the national action plan likely shifts to driving longer-term competitiveness in preparation for an up-turn, with
more opportunistic focus on immediate private sector investment activation
Provide assurance of future demand Crowd in private sector investment
1• Drive investment to enhance distinctive 3• Where possible, court private investors that can invest
competitiveness based on future demand potential
With a focus on short- to mid-term investments that can put a Leverage longer-term brand building efforts to attract investors,
country on the map as the recovery begins, e.g., building based on increased certainty of future demand (e.g., ecolodge
stronger products around heritage assets, developments, wider hotel investments beyond Yerevan)
improving site quality
2• Strengthen natural and adventure brand in 4• Develop appropriate incentives to protect investment
preparation for a reinvigoration campaign throughout a potential downturn
as a tourism upturn commences- particularly in key
tourist personas like young adventure travelers Recognizing the risk of projects ceasing and capital pulling out,
explore further incentivization of tourism investments that
Pause many immediate activation activities, and invest in maintain viability of projects in a difficult climate
longer-term content strategy and creation activities that allow
for a “relaunch” of a country’s tourism brand as the upturn
begins
5Preliminary
Reflections on the tourism
response to the 2003 SARS
outbreak
6The SARS outbreak in 2003 took place primarily in six countries, largely
in Asia, and disproportionately impacted the tourism sector
The SARS outbreak occurred mainly in Asia The SARS outbreak hit Asia’s tourism industry particularly hard:
and certain parts of Canada, with six
countries serving as the epicenter:1 The World Travel and Tourism Council Additional insights show
estimated the SARS tourism fallout to be: further impact on tourism:
Cases Fatalities
Tourism GDP • Thailand lost at least $350
Tourism jobs
China 5,327 348 lost lostmillion in tourism revenue
• Malaysia’s tourism receipts
Vietnam 15% 62,000 dropped by 17% from
Hong Kong 1,755 298
Singapore 43% 17,500
2002
Taiwan 671 84 • Singapore’s tourist arrivals
Hong Kong 41% 27,000 fell by more than 70% from
Singapore 206 32 the previous period in
China 25% 2.8 million
2002
• Taiwan’s tourist arrivals fell
Vietnam 63 5
by 71% between Q1 and
However, the SARS outbreak did not last long Q2 2003
Canada 250 38
• The outbreak was short: SARS lasted from November 2002 – July 2003
• The rebound was quick: By end of 2003 and early 2004, many countries
Global 8,437 813 observed near-normal tourism arrivals.
While the SARS outbreak caused great disruption in the Asian tourism market, other global markets were minimally affected.
Globally, tourism numbers only dropped by 1% between 2002 and 2003
Sources: 1. The World Health Organization, 2003; Zeng et al., 2005: “Short-term Perturbations and Tourism Effects: The Case of SARS in China”; The UNWTO 2004
Tourism Barometer; Mao et al., 2010: “Post-SARS tourist arrival recovery patterns: An analysis based on a catastrophe theory”; Hu et al., 2020 “COVID-19 and the global 7
hotel industry”; HospitalityNet, May 2003; UNWTO, “Tourism Market Trends 2004”; The Star, 29 Jan 2020: “How SARS Impacted Tourism”SARS led to significant– yet short-lived– drops in international tourist
arrivals to affected countries which impacted local tourism employment
Growth of international tourist arrivals in SARS countries
% growth (Data for Taiwan not available), WTTC
50 Despite quick rebounds in the second half of 2003, the
40 impact of the SARS crisis was still pronounced in
30
affected countries– most noticeably on employment.
20
• Each of the countries with high SARS cases had a
10
noticeable drop in tourist arrivals in Q2 2003. As a
0
region, Asia saw an average decline of 9%. Tourist
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
-10 drops were exacerbated by new World Health
-20 Organization travel advisories against travel to these
Canada China Hong Kong Singapore Vietnam countries.
Tourism employment in SARS countries • However, tourism recovered quickly in Q3 2003. The
% growth, WTTC
eradication of SARS cases and the official “clearing” of
40 countries by the WHO enabled countries to launch
30 targeted marketing efforts to bring tourists back.
20 • The drop in tourists triggered a drop in tourism
employment. The full closure of tourism businesses,
10
especially restaurants; lower hotel occupancies;
0
reduced activity for travel agencies and tourism
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
-10 enterprises; and decreased customers for tour guides
-20 and transport companies all contributed to this.
-30
Canada China Hong Kong Singapore Taiwan Vietnam
Source: World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Data Portal; United Nations World Tourism Organization (WTO) Data, WTO Tourism Barometer January 2004 8The “V-Drops” in international tourists also led to harsh but quick
impacts on both business and leisure tourism spending
Annual growth in Business Tourism Spending
% growth, WTTC
40 The SARS outbreak caused a significant drop in both
30
business and leisure tourism spending in the six
“hotspot” markets.
20
10 • Business tourism spending suffered in all markets:
Destinations like Hong Kong and Singapore rely
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 heavily on business tourism for their overall tourism
-10 sector, which was heavily dampened by WHO travel
restrictions.
-20
• Leisure tourism was slower to bounce back from
Annual growth in Leisure Tourism Spending
% growth, WTTC
non-SARS countries: Countries like Taiwan rely on
tourists from Japan and other markets that did not
40
have SARS outbreaks. These tourists took longer to
30 attract back post-SARS and required specific
marketing campaigns to convince nations and
20
individuals of travel safety.
10
• Rapid turnaround softened the annual economic hit:
0 Overall, tourism arrivals rebounded soon after SARS
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 was eliminated. This reduced the full annual impact
-10
for 2003 and led to a strong year in 2004.
-20
Canada China Hong Kong Singapore Taiwan Vietnam
Source: World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Data Portal; Mao et al., 2010: “Post-SARS tourist arrival recovery patterns: An analysis based 9
on a catastrophe theory”, Tourism Management 31.While SARS contributed to a global slow-down of tourists in 2003, the
brunt of this impact was confined to Asia and global tourism did not stop
Growth in international tourism arrivals to global regions
% growth, WTO
Africa Asia & Pacific Middle East While SARS sent Asia into negative growth it only
Americas Europe slowed tourism growth in other hot-spot markets like
Europe and the Middle East.
27
23
16
• SARS contributed to negative growth in tourism
8 9 11 8 6 8 7 arrivals in Asia. Other regions, with exception of the
4 5 3 3 5 4 4 4
1 0
-3
0 Americas, merely flat-lined or slowed down in
-5 -4
-9 2003.Notably, growth in African tourism increased
from 3% to 5% during this time. The Americas’
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
protracted negative growth in tourism stemmed from
spill over effects of the 2001 terrorist attack and the
Growth in global international tourism arrivals
% growth, WTO
US-Iraq war that began in 2003.
12 • Collectively, dampened markets led to a -1% growth
10 in global tourism arrivals in 2003. This drop in growth
reduced the overall number of international travelers
8
from 703 million in 2002 to only 694 million in 2003.
6 The rebound from this was quick, however, with
4 2004 being one of the strongest tourism arrivals
2
years seen across all geographies, demonstrating a
strong comeback from SARS and other crises at the
0
time.
-2
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
10
Source: United Nations World Tourism Organization (WTO) Data; World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Data PortalTourism destinations responded quickly to SARS to ensure the public of
safety and standard maintenance despite the health crisis
Response strategies: focused on mitigating the immediate impact of the situation, and minimizing shocks the depth of the
shock that SARS brought in the immediate several quarters
• Implement hygiene, infection control standards, and port control measures to minimize risk of COVID-19
Public health
transmission and provide additional confidence to travellers who continue to travel
responses
• E.g., increased deep cleaning of planes and hotels, customer facing staff wearing masks
• Dispel negative rumours through strong PR, while responsibly managing the public health impacts
PR and crisis
• Ensure industry operators play their role in responding to and managing the crisis – both maximizing
management
preparedness and improving PR into a potential upturn
• Explore options to leverage tourism assets (particularly human capital) to continue to deliver economic
Substitute demand
benefits
generation /
• E.g., Hong Kong during SARS converted empty hotel rooms into offices for rent, hotels offered food delivery
alternative revenue
services to utilize kitchen staff, and provided cleaning services using housekeeping staff
• During SARS, many Hong Kong hotel operators were forced to reduce hours paid for staff (even after seeking
Cost reductions for to generate alternative revenues as outlined above)
operators • Additional steps were often taken to reduce other outgoings (e.g., closing off particular parts of hotels to
minimize costs such as electricity consumption)
Government policy • Although few examples exist of these tools being used, there is potential for stronger government responses
responses (job and to soften the blow of immediate impacts. E.g., ‘job preservation funds’ or changes to tax policies to minimize
investment protection) need for job losses, targeted incentives that maintain viability of operators
11The Asian tourism sector’s response and recovery was made possible by rapid government assistance which ranged from 0.1 – 1.7% of GDP China Hong Kong Singapore • Launched a national SARS relief fund • USD 1.5B (0.9% of GDP) of relief • USD 130M (0.1% of GDP) relief of USD 240M including loan guarantees, reduction package, mostly for tourism, included • Enacted tax exemptions worth USD of government fees, property tax property tax rebates for commercial 109M in hardest-hit provinces discounts, reduced rentals in properties and hotels and a bridging • Allocated an additional USD 845M government premises, and salary tax loan program for tourism SMEs for treatment and upgrading medical rebates • USD 57M Tourism Recovery Fund infrastructure from local govts • Catalyzed the creation of over for overseas promotion and • China’s SARS relief amounted to 20,000 short-term jobs marketing
Coordinated post-SARS marketing campaigns sought to restore
confidence in local/regional tourism and re-build brand identification
Hong Kong Singapore Asia’s Regional Approach
Campaign name: “Hong Kong: Live it, Love it” Campaign name: “Singapore Roars” and “Step Out!” Campaign name: “Project Phoenix”
Time frame: Launched in June 2003 Time frame: Launched June 2003 Time frame: June - August 2003
Budget: Included in a $129m budget (specific Budget: USD 115M (Singapore Roars) and USD 1.1M Budget: USD 350,000 raised along with in-kind
amount not disclosed) (Step Out!) contributions
Oversight body: The Hong Kong Tourism Board Oversight body: The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) Oversight body: Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
The “Hong Kong: Live it, Love it!” campaign rolled In June 2003, the STB launched the "Singapore Roars" PATA launched a regionally-coordinated tourism and
out across 16 global markets which accounted for program. The initiative sought to bring visitors back to communications effort aimed at attracting business
92% of Hong Kong’s previous visitor arrivals. The the country by promoting Singapore as a safe and leisure travelers back to Asian markets. The
Hong Kong — Live it, Love it! theme remains the destination with attractive tourism packages. Target campaign sought to do three things:
HKTB's principal marketing and promotional markets included Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, 1. To restore consumer confidence in the travel
platform, which, by showcasing the city's four "core Britain, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Japan, China experience
strengths" — its shopping, dining, a culture and and the United States. This campaign ran in 2. To create a consistent single voice for travel and
heritage that fuses elements of both East and partnership with PATA’s regional “Project Phoenix” tourism in Pacific Asia
West, and its unique combination of city, harbor campaign. 3. To drive business back to Pacific Asian
and greenery. The campaign also included a TV destinations
commercial that leveraged Hong Kong celebrity To promote domestic tourism, the STB also launched
Jackie Chan as a tourism ambassador, welcoming the “Step Out!” campaign. The campaign encouraged PATA worked with governments and a public
visitors to his Hong Kong home. Singaporeans to step out of their homes and visit local relations platform (MDK Consultants) to best
retailers and restaurants. The campaign also included structure a regional brand approach. Funding for
The campaign also empowered HK residents to be the Great Singapore Sale: The six-week-long shopping Project Phoenix came from cash and in-kind
“local ambassadors” of tourism: An early screening festival boosted retail sales by 6.8% month-on-month contributions from national tourism offices, airlines,
of the commercial on six local TV channels in Hong in June. hotels, and tour/travel operators– all acknowledging
Kong created domestic support for tourism and that the SARS fallout from tourism would never stay
provided guidelines on how to be better hosts. The These campaigns and other government relief localized to specific countries. Project Phoenix also
commercial reached 1.75 million viewers and packages greatly supported the recovery of worked with WTO and IATA to coordinate and align
achieved a 59% awareness rating. Singapore’s tourism industry. Visitor arrivals grew by country-specific marketing campaigns under regional
76% in June 2003 and grew a further 43% by July efforts.
Sources: The Government and Public Sector Practice: “Hong Kong: Safe after SARS” WTO Report of Tourism in Asia 2004 , “Toronto tourism-recovery post SARS”, “Hong
2003.
Kong spends $129m global drive post SARS”, “Tourists return to Singapore after SARS”, “Hong Kong Tourism revival continues with 7.9% growth in September 2003”,
Hong Kong Tourism Board October 2003; Travel Daily News, 9 June 2003 “SARS Recovery: PATA launches Project Phoenix”; Wilks et al., 2006: “Tourism in Turbulent 13
Times”SARS only lasted three months, and
was localized to specific countries.
COVID-19 has resulted in a global
standstill of tourism, and will require
industry action above and beyond
SARS responses to recover.Stakeholders are already starting to support the tourism sector in three
main ways in response to COVID-19
Tourism support Details
• Securing operations: Activities and programs to help businesses avoid closure
Coping: • Promoting investment: Incentives to drive investment in tourism to strengthen the sector
Financial and during the “quiet time”
business assistance • Encouraging skills growth: Programs that train and upskill tourism employees for stronger
post-COVID performance
• Future planning: Priority growth market and services identification
Planning:
• Visitor incentives: Programs that attract tourists during the downturn, where visitation is
Post-COVID
still possible
tourism strategies
• Partnership development: Structures that bring stakeholders together for unified
Reaching:
strategies
Innovative and
• Long-term messaging: Approaches and messages that will tastefully bring tourists into a
sensitive marketing
market during the COVID recovery period
The following slides highlight a selection of specific support interventions currently being implemented by different
countries in response to COVID-19. Given the quick and shifting actions being taken globally, these examples are subject
to change.
15Coping: South Asian countries are leading the response to support
current tourism businesses and promote long-term growth and
investment
Singapore Malaysia
• Direct salary support: Local employees in tourism will have up to • Direct payments to tourism operators: One-off RM 600 (USD
75% of salaries paid through subsidies for 9 months 140) payment to taxi, tourist bus and rickshaw drivers, and tour
• Employer wage rebates: Employers will receive a 25% cash grant guides
Time-sensitive: Information is subject to change
on monthly wages of each local employee • Micro-credit for tourism companies: RM 200M (USD 46M)
• Tax holiday: Hotels, serviced apartments, tourist attractions, micro-credit scheme for tourism/hospitality companies at 4%
Securing shops and eateries exempt from property tax for 2020 interest rate, with 6-month deferred repayment
• Reduced tourism operator fees: Waived license fees for hotels, • Tax deferment: Tourism businesses get a deferment of monthly
operations travel agents, and tour guides income tax installments for 6 months
• Temporary loans: Government providing temporary bridging • Service tax exemption: Hotels exempt from paying service tax
loans of up to SGD 1M (USD 700K) with a capped 5% interest for 6 months
rate, where government takes 80% risk–share • Utility bill reductions: Deduction in monthly electricity bills
• Business clinics: Singapore Conventions Group launching clinics
on cash flow, legal, and other topics to “keep afloat”
• Expedited savings: Faster write-downs of infrastructure • Expedited loan approvals: Faster approval from RM 1.5B (USD
investments 350M) Tourism Infrastructure Fund
Promoting • Committed resources: SGD 90M (USD 63M) set aside to help • Government infrastructure investment: Nationwide RM 2B
investment tourism industry “rebound strongly” (USD 463M) for upgrades of small infrastructure repair
• Tax deductions on upgrades: Tax deduction of RM 300K (USD
70K) on renovation and refurbishment costs
• Direct training payouts: SGD 1K (USD 700) payout to tour • Skills upgrading: RM 100M (USD 45M) to help COVID-affected
guides; add’l. SGD 600 (USD 420) for guides who train 80+ businesses upgrade workers’ skills (incl. tourism and hospitality)
Encouraging hours • Short course financing: RM 50M (USD 11M) provided to
skills growth • Payment of course fees: STB’s will pay up to 90% of training finance digital skills short courses
course fees and trainer fees • Training deductions: Double deduction on expenses incurred
• Online training platforms: SkillsFuture Singapore will provide on approved tourism-related training
enhanced
Tay, The Straits Times, 26 March online
2020; Ayman tourism
Medina, training
ASEAN programs
Briefing: “Malaysia Issues Stimulus Package to Combat COVID-19 Impact”; Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir
Mohamad of Malaysia, “2020 Economic Stimulus Package– Full speech text”, 27 February 2020; Liang-Pholsena “Are Singapore’s Tourism Players Creating a Model for a Post- 16
Virus World?” Skift, 6 March, 2020; McKinsey and Co, “COVID-19: Impact on Travel and Hospitality and Tourism” 23 March, 2020;Coping: While other nations are developing rapid responses to help
tourism SMEs, support for tourism investment and skills is slow to
emerge
Georgia South Africa
• Tax exemption for tourism businesses: Tourism businesses • Tourism SME support: The South African Department of
exempt from property and income taxes throughout summer Tourism has made an additional ZAR 200M (USD 11M)
season, impacting 18,000 companies and 50,000 employees available to assist SMEs in the tourism industry on top of
Time-sensitive: Information is subject to change
and worth GEL 100M (USD 36M) national programs that make more than ZAR 500M (USD 28M)
• VAT support: VAT returns structure and payment for tourism available to all SMEs
Securing industry companies is currently being restructured • Tax deferment: Tax-compliant businesses with a turnover of
operations • Interest deferment: Major banks are currently postponing less than ZAR 50M (USD 2.8M) will be allowed to delay 20% of
interest payments for tourism companies their liabilities over the next four months, aimed to target
75,000 SMEs
• On-call information: Tourism Services Call Centre established
where tourism businesses can get info on available relief
measures, postponement of events, and direct tourist support
• Expanding tourism infrastructure: The government is spending
Promoting an additional GEL 300M (USD 91M) on tourism-related
investment infrastructure projects
Encouraging
skills growth
Markets that did not experience the SARS outbreak are still working on holistic development programs to help
businesses and tourism employees weather the storm. Looking ahead, promoting investment and building skills should be
a strong part of any country’s COVID-related tourism support.
South Africa Department of Tourism: “COVID-19 Interventions for the Tourism Sector,” “Coronavirus stimulus package: 12 measures to “cushion” the economy”, 23 March 17
2020; 24 March 2020; “Georgia unveils COVID-19 Economic Stimulus” 15 March 2020;Planning and Reaching: South Asian nations are also leading the creation
of post-COVID tourism strategies and sensitive marketing campaigns
Singapore Thailand Malaysia
• Building a recovery strategy through • Prioritizing first-step domestic market • Prioritizing first-step domestic market
partnership: Singapore is setting up a growth: Thailand is relying on its growth: Malaysia is expanding the
public-private Tourism Rapid Action domestic tourism market to catalyze country’s domestic tourism market due
Planning:
Time-sensitive: Information is subject to change
Task Force (TRAC) to lay out the plans the sector’s rebound. This is to limited inbound international
Post-COVID for recovery and future growth: particularly needed as international tourists and a captive local market
– Rally stakeholders to support travelers will be locked-down for the • Preparing for re-start of international
tourism recovery efforts extended future, and Thai travelers tourism: To get a head start on
strategies – Boost confidence in Singapore’s cannot go abroad. marketing, Malaysia is identifying the
tourism industry • Setting goals: Thailand seeks to raise tourism markets that will yield the
– Create recovery strategies the number of domestic trips to 200M greatest visitors when flights open up
– Build tourism sector capabilities per year, from 166M last year
• Communicating tourist safety: The • Funding domestic tourists: Providing THB • Funding domestic tourism: Digital
Singapore Tourism Board has 1,000 (USD 30) to 5 million local travelers vouchers for domestic tourism of up to
expanded its safety and travel to take a trip outside their province RM 100 (USD 22) per person
Reaching: communication • Creating local travel options: The Tourism • Incentivizing domestic tourism
• Supporting quarantine guests– and Authority of Thailand is creating through taxes: Tax relief of RM 1K
Innovative sharing the story: Hotels in Singapore innovative new tour packages to appeal (USD 226) for domestic trips
and sensitive are housing quarantine guests for full to the domestic market • Exploring international markets: RM
marketing 14-day stays, and sharing their efforts • Delaying international festivals: 30M (USD 6M) to Tourism Malaysia to
online through pictures and stories, all Postponing large festivals (e.g., Songkran) step up promotions to key markets
to reflect a caring tourism sector until international tourism recovers Dropping costs of domestic visits:
Limited-to-no site entrance fees
However, explicit tourism marketing at this stage should ideally be limited to messages of safety, security, and future
hope. Aiming to attract tourists during a global pandemic would likely be seen as insensitive and mis-placed.
Hu et al., 2020 “COVID-19 and the global hotel industry: A roadmap to recovery, Pt.1”; “Singapore puts focus on post-coronavirus tourism recovery”, February 2020;
“Coronavirus stimulus package: 12 measures to “cushion” the economy”, 23 March 2020; Skift, 5 March 2020; Singapore Tourism Board LinkedIn page, accessed 1 April 18
2020Main takeaways 1
1. The SARS tourism impact was deep, but short and localized
• The SARS outbreak lasted for six months and was localized to a group of Asian countries and Canada
• International travel continued during the outbreak but travelers avoided outbreak countries
• COVID-19 is markedly different in its size and impact: Global tourism has ground to a halt, traveler confidence has plummeted, and
the economic impacts will hurt inbound markets much harder, likely causing a long-term drop in global arrivals
2. Tourism employment is highly susceptible to shocks
• SARS demonstrated just how sensitive tourism jobs are to shocks– the drop-off in employment was quick and sharp
• This is particularly true for SMEs, their employees, and for people who are informally employed
• The impact also hurts people who derive part of their income from tourism, like informal B&B operators
3. Quick tourism responses that show leadership and stability are vital
• As the SARS outbreak occurred, governments took clear action to publicly demonstrate the health and safety of the tourism sector
• Clear communication of economic responses helps to reassure international markets and investors of the sector’s importance
4. Regional recovery cooperation is essential
• Following the SARS outbreak, smaller countries came together to collectively re-brand the region as a tourism destination
• Countries maintained individual marketing campaigns, but did so with regional coordination to ensure complementary advantages
• Regional travel packages and products created newer options for travelers
19Main takeaways 2
5. Government’s financial support for the tourism sector is vital
• Responses during the SARS outbreak ranged from 01.-1.7% of a country’s GDP
• Given COVID’s greater impact, countries should evaluate higher contributions
• These resources should focus on employee/business support, skills development, investor facilitation, and strategy development
6. A partnership approach is essential for holistic recovery
• Private sector, development, and NGO partners are all well-placed to add value, on top of government contributions
• Skills development, employment support, strategy creation, sensitive marketing, and even digital innovation are all areas where
partners can further support government
7. Rebound marketing should be planned but delayed for “sunnier days”
• SARS countries planned rebound marketing strategies early-on, but strategically held them back until countries had been cleared of
health risks until global markets were ready to consider travel again
• Launching new marketing campaigns in the middle of a global pandemic is ill-advised: It would waste money due to ineffectiveness,
and would appear callous and insensitive while inbound markets struggle with severe health crises and economic recessions
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