Significance
Travel and tourism supports 22 million jobs in the EU and accounts for almost 10% of GDP. Its importance is greater still for the economies of Southern Europe, already vulnerable and debt-laden. Thus COVID-19 disruption threatens to widen the EU's North-South divide and sow the seeds of a systemic crisis.
Impacts
Tourism stakeholders and policymakers across the continent will need to orchestrate their efforts to bring trust back to travel.
A recovery plan based on supply-side policies as well as easy monetary policy is key to avoiding a European debt and socio-economic crisis.
Structural reforms are key for Southern European economies to improve their competitiveness and insulate themselves from future crises.
PurposeThis paper questions the present state of the world's tourism industry and advocates the need for an approach where quality assumes greater importance than quantity.Design/methodology/approachThis paper provides an analysis of the tourism industry's recent evolution while trying to identify reasons for its decline which amongst others, include security issues and economic crisis.FindingsIn developing a sustainable tourism industry especially in these economically challenging times, we must learn to appreciate what is precious in our own lives and in our respective communities. This in turn will help us maintain and further explore the uniqueness of our tourist destinations. The greatest threat to leisure and tourism (and to a lesser extent to business travel) is the fact that travel has lost a good deal of its romance and enchantment due to a global approach to its development. In the rush for efficiency and quantitative analysis the travel and tourism industry may have forgotten that each traveller has unique expectations.Originality/valueSustainable tourism is not only about how a tourist location adapts but also about what a city or destination accomplishes when re-discovering its inner essence and then promoting it.