SkiftX

With the Covid-19 tourism crisis upending traditional marketing strategies, destinations are placing local residents and businesses at the heart of their recovery plans. Instead of reaching out to visitors traveling from other regions, destination marketing organizations are finding creative ways to encourage locals to explore their own communities.

Community tourism is a concept that places emphasis on bridging the economic and social divides between travelers and locals that is gaining prominence in the travel industry. As we learn in the case studies below from G Adventures, the pioneers of community tourism, redefined, it also has the potential to empower the industry employees who organize, lead, and sell travel experiences to customers.

It’s true that travel loyalty programs have come a long way from the standard points-based system — but some may still have a long way to go when it comes to striking the right balance between customer value and business value.

In March 2020, Covid-19 became the biggest disruptor in modern travel. Now, six months on, international borders are slowly starting to reopen, and travelers are eager to return to some normality. This guide presents new research-based perspectives on what it’ll take to get the world moving again.

Border closures, flight cancellations, and a host of Covid-19-related restrictions have made consumers less confident about flying. New technologies such as contactless hotel and meal vouchers can help airlines manage flight disruptions more efficiently, thereby easing traveler distress, strengthening brand loyalty, and helping the industry rebound.

In this report, Skift and Amazon Web Services explore the state of digital transformation in the travel and hospitality sector, providing a benchmark for executives to follow as they gauge their own progress with this critical discipline.

Digital advertising is an essential component of the online travel industry. But now, with business as usual disrupted by Covid-19, this tried and true playbook needs a refresh. In this video from Skift’s recent online travel summit, we learn how online travel companies are adapting their digital ad strategy for this period of uncertainty.

In this video conversation from Skift Forum Europe 2020, we learn more about how Destination Canada's business events strategy is bridging the gap between tourism, meetings, and economic development sectors.

In this video from the 2020 Skift Loyalty Summit, we learn about the results of a Covid-19 travel outlook from ICF Next, along with insights into how travel executives can adapt their loyalty strategies to help assist with Covid-19 recovery.

In this video from Skift’s Travel's Path Forward: Loyalty summit, we learn more about how loyalty strategies are evolving in the travel industry as brands look to deliver more value and better experiences to customers.