The Most Important Story in Tourism in 2021
Photo Credit: A panoramic view of the Olympic Rings Monument in Tokyo Flickr Commons / Dick Thomas Johnson
Skift Take
Hosting a spectator-free Olympic Games in a pandemic and taking a hit of over $30 billion is about as historic as it gets. But Japan tourism's handling of it shone a light on the ways destinations are adapting, as well as the factors that will impact global tourism's future.
The unpredictability surrounding travel’s reopening has defined the second global pandemic year, amid shifting travel restrictions in some parts of the world and borders remaining closed in others. Going from point A to point B is no longer a simple or guaranteed proposition in this Covid reality, and by extension, neither is the return of the world’s most iconic large-scale events as we once knew them.
That’s why few scenarios have been as representative of global tourism’s predicament this year than the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Beyond the startling image of stadiums devoid of tourists or residents — an outcome Japan had hoped to avoid with a year of deferral — the event brought to light key issues that the tourism industry continues to grapple with,
