The pandemic put travel on hold, but it also helped redirect tourist masses to a handful of attractions, leading some to break visiting records. Destinations and their partners can adopt certain strategies to better manage this influx.
The pandemic put travel on hold, but it also helped redirect tourist masses to a handful of attractions, leading some to break visiting records. Destinations and their partners can adopt certain strategies to better manage this influx.
With the pandemic, outdoor sites, such as natural parks and agrotourist attractions, have to manage an increasing number of visitors. Fortunately, dealing with a significant increase in tourists is not new. Big cities and popular attractions were already taking the bull by the horns before the crisis and some have even emerged successfully.
In September 2018, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) released a report which recommended 11 strategies and 68 measures to better manage the growth of tourism streams. Although this report dates back from a pre-pandemic period, it is an excellent source of inspiration for regions and municipalities. In urban or rural areas, before or after the health crisis, dealing with a concentration of visitors requires a fairly similar basic course of action. This analysis presents three strategies:
The main attractions and events of a destination usually attract mass tourism. To alleviate this trend, tourism offices and destination management organisations (DMO) could promote a variety of places and attractions scattered throughout their territory and further afield.
Get tourists who visit a destination for the first time to change their plan is a major challenge because, often, the destination’s landmarks are part of the reasons for their trip. However, if they were offered a complementary deal, tourists could be tempted to deviate slightly from their route and be surprised by new suggestions.
Some visitors look precisely for those places away from large crowds, others come back for a second time or more or stay for longer. This strategy can target all markets.
In its desire to better manage tourist flows, New Zealand launched a light-hearted campaign addressed to influencers, in part responsible for the concentration of visitors in some natural attractions. A series of comic videos feature a Ranger chasing tourists who take snaps in places popularised on social media. This Ranger “stops the culprits” and takes them not to a police station, but to a lesser-known attraction. The core slogan is: “Please do not travel under the influence of social media.” The official website of New Zealand also recommends activities which are not necessarily among the best known on TripAdvisor.
New Zealand is urging people to stop taking influencer-style photoshoots at tourism hotspots © wootthisak nirongboot / Getty Images
In Europe, France Montagnes -- an association that brings together the major players in the mountain tourism industry of France -- published articles this winter offering activities "away from the crowds". This inexpensive method highlights hidden gems and promotes security and tranquillity at the same time.
15 Snowshoeing Spots, Far From the Crowds © Baptiste Diet
Achieving a better balance on the distribution of visitors over a day, week or year is a goal for many destinations.
The UNWTO developed a few measures supporting such an approach:
For several years, Finland stands out in the way it promotes the different seasons (article in French). On its website, unique seasonal experiences are presented through articles, videos and images reflecting the authentic character of the destination.
The DMO does not hesitate to talk about what differentiates it from the other most visited places in the world and highlights what might appeal from the typically Finnish experience.
Each destination has points of interest which are most of the time overlooked by visitors. Creating “off-the-beaten-track” type itineraries and promoting them with the collaboration of tourism offices, ambassadors and local businesses can help to better distribute visitors across a destination.
The demand for an alternative tourism offer is very real. Before the pandemic, it was already apparent, as consumers were expressing their desire to live authentic experiences and discover local culture (article in French). Travel restrictions linked to COVID-19 quickly boosted this trend, especially in rural areas (article in French). From this observation arises a challenge of creating "out of the ordinary" tours, which are in phase with and accepted by residents, to continue the dynamic development of unique experiences.
Conscious that tourists who visit a destination may have preconceived ideas, the Australian DMO decided to create and promote uncommon experiences, through itineraries that go out of the most frequented routes.
In terms of short circuits experiences, outdoors and agrotourism go hand in hand. The network of English National Parks offers more than thirty experiences highlighting local culture and spreading visitors across protected areas. From coffee-kayaking to Gin tasting in the forest, these partnerships create unique activities.
Should we replace the usual Top 5, Top 10, Bucket List and other essential suggestions with a more diversified offer? Some destinations do, will you also choose this path?
This article is published in partnership with Transat Chair in tourism at the Université du Québec à Montréal, School of Management (ESG-UQAM). This article was originally written in French by Stéphanie Massé, 20 April 2021, we have provided an English translation.
The pandemic put travel on hold, but it also helped redirect tourist masses to a handful of attractions, leading some to break visiting records. Destinations and their partners can adopt certain strategies to better manage this influx.
With the pandemic, outdoor sites, such as natural parks and agrotourist attractions, have to manage an increasing number of visitors. Fortunately, dealing with a significant increase in tourists is not new. Big cities and popular attractions were already taking the bull by the horns before the crisis and some have even emerged successfully.
In September 2018, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) released a report which recommended 11 strategies and 68 measures to better manage the growth of tourism streams. Although this report dates back from a pre-pandemic period, it is an excellent source of inspiration for regions and municipalities. In urban or rural areas, before or after the health crisis, dealing with a concentration of visitors requires a fairly similar basic course of action. This analysis presents three strategies:
The main attractions and events of a destination usually attract mass tourism. To alleviate this trend, tourism offices and destination management organisations (DMO) could promote a variety of places and attractions scattered throughout their territory and further afield.
Get tourists who visit a destination for the first time to change their plan is a major challenge because, often, the destination’s landmarks are part of the reasons for their trip. However, if they were offered a complementary deal, tourists could be tempted to deviate slightly from their route and be surprised by new suggestions.
Some visitors look precisely for those places away from large crowds, others come back for a second time or more or stay for longer. This strategy can target all markets.
In its desire to better manage tourist flows, New Zealand launched a light-hearted campaign addressed to influencers, in part responsible for the concentration of visitors in some natural attractions. A series of comic videos feature a Ranger chasing tourists who take snaps in places popularised on social media. This Ranger “stops the culprits” and takes them not to a police station, but to a lesser-known attraction. The core slogan is: “Please do not travel under the influence of social media.” The official website of New Zealand also recommends activities which are not necessarily among the best known on TripAdvisor.
New Zealand is urging people to stop taking influencer-style photoshoots at tourism hotspots © wootthisak nirongboot / Getty Images
In Europe, France Montagnes -- an association that brings together the major players in the mountain tourism industry of France -- published articles this winter offering activities "away from the crowds". This inexpensive method highlights hidden gems and promotes security and tranquillity at the same time.
15 Snowshoeing Spots, Far From the Crowds © Baptiste Diet
Achieving a better balance on the distribution of visitors over a day, week or year is a goal for many destinations.
The UNWTO developed a few measures supporting such an approach:
For several years, Finland stands out in the way it promotes the different seasons (article in French). On its website, unique seasonal experiences are presented through articles, videos and images reflecting the authentic character of the destination.
The DMO does not hesitate to talk about what differentiates it from the other most visited places in the world and highlights what might appeal from the typically Finnish experience.
Each destination has points of interest which are most of the time overlooked by visitors. Creating “off-the-beaten-track” type itineraries and promoting them with the collaboration of tourism offices, ambassadors and local businesses can help to better distribute visitors across a destination.
The demand for an alternative tourism offer is very real. Before the pandemic, it was already apparent, as consumers were expressing their desire to live authentic experiences and discover local culture (article in French). Travel restrictions linked to COVID-19 quickly boosted this trend, especially in rural areas (article in French). From this observation arises a challenge of creating "out of the ordinary" tours, which are in phase with and accepted by residents, to continue the dynamic development of unique experiences.
Conscious that tourists who visit a destination may have preconceived ideas, the Australian DMO decided to create and promote uncommon experiences, through itineraries that go out of the most frequented routes.
In terms of short circuits experiences, outdoors and agrotourism go hand in hand. The network of English National Parks offers more than thirty experiences highlighting local culture and spreading visitors across protected areas. From coffee-kayaking to Gin tasting in the forest, these partnerships create unique activities.
Should we replace the usual Top 5, Top 10, Bucket List and other essential suggestions with a more diversified offer? Some destinations do, will you also choose this path?
This article is published in partnership with Transat Chair in tourism at the Université du Québec à Montréal, School of Management (ESG-UQAM). This article was originally written in French by Stéphanie Massé, 20 April 2021, we have provided an English translation.
With the pandemic, outdoor sites, such as natural parks and agrotourist attractions, have to manage an increasing number of visitors. Fortunately, dealing with a significant increase in tourists is not new. Big cities and popular attractions were already taking the bull by the horns before the crisis and some have even emerged successfully.
With the pandemic, outdoor sites, such as natural parks and agrotourist attractions, have to manage an increasing number of visitors. Fortunately, dealing with a significant increase in tourists is not new. Big cities and popular attractions were already taking the bull by the horns before the crisis and some have even emerged successfully.
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