Government support measures have saved the tourism industry from the worst. But the aid also prevents forward-looking questioning: does the business model really have a future, or were the tourism hotspots only so successfull thanks to the large groups from Asia?

It is precisely in times of crisis that the future should rethought. That's why it's important to promote innovation – by creating new jobs and increasing the tax base, the entire society benefits in the end. Together with the European Space Agency (ESA), the World Tourism Forum Lucerne, WTFL for short, wants to promote innovation and make it visible in tourism. Specifically, challenges such as safe travel and megatrends such as connectivity will be addressed. 5G, geolocated data and other space technologies form the base for innovative approaches to solutions that will shape the tourism of the future. Autonomous robots that support the cleaning staff in hotels and travel without having the constant presentation of the passport should thus soon become a reality.

Promoting young talent

But new technical solutions are not enough. Studies show that companies and entire industries perform better when they have a high degree of diversity – in terms of gender, age and other factors such as origin.

It is particularly important to promote young people – even across national borders. Hapimag is very exemplary in this respect: CEO Hassan Kadbi lives and breathes employee development like no one else, even during the pandemic, and invests specifically in the next generation. In the future, however, it will also be crucial not only to retain employees in the industry, but also to integrate new ones who bring an unbiased view from the outside. With a course targeted to career jumpers – for example at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences – they acquire the industry-specific know-how.

Gender stereotypes need to be dismantled

Overall, the tourism industry employs the same number of women as men. But the higher the level in the hierarchy, the fewer women there are – among CEOs, only every twentieth position is held by a woman, as the latest study by WTFL together with Aptamind Partners showed. We need to use the current crisis as an opportunity to break down gender stereotypes, change organizational culture and work to empower women.

More diversity leads to better quality decision-making and therefore better results. More female bosses would presumably also mean that the offer is better geared to female tourists – who, after all, make up around half of the traveling population and, within the family, make the majority of travel decisions. But why is this still a problem? The enormous untapped revenue potential should be motivation enough. What is more, the demand for more inclusion is getting increasingly loud. And rightly so, in my opinion. This is precisely why diversity and inclusion is one of the cornerstones of WTFL. Only if the tourism industry becomes more inclusive and diverse at all levels can it creatively overcome future challenges and implement promising ideas. I am firmly convinced of this.