Nobody taught anybody how to survive a pandemic. Yet here we are, two years later making lemonade out of lemons, or at least we try our best. That said, the travel and tourism industry well and truly hit rock bottom and Sri Lanka which had placed it the number 1 foreign exchange earner was affected more than most. Given the global nature of this pandemic, bookings, cruises and flights just saw nothing but darkness for the better part of these two years. However, does this mean that as a destination marketer, you need to abandon all hope and stop marketing? Absolutely not, and we’re here to tell you exactly why you shouldn’t stop COVID-19, destination marketing.
Leverage the ‘one day’ wager
Here’s the catch. People are upset that they cannot travel and explore the way that they used to and so are impatient until the day they can get to do so. Countries are opening up already and travel as well as flight bookings are really picking up. The businesses that benefited the most were the ones that did not give up on their marketing when the pandemic hit. Disney for example switched messaging to ‘See you soon’ and people flocked to visit the park as soon as they were able to. Leverage the hope that your customers will see you soon again. If you give up now, you lose.
Normal is relative, and it returns
If there ever was a time to understand that ‘normal’ is relative, this is it! As a destination marketer facing the challenges of the tourism industry, you must understand and believe that normal will return. Yes, it will not be the pre-pandemic normal but even now, human beings are adjusting and there is going to come a day when the bookings will surge, and the economy will stabilize. Just think about it, the economies across the world went through natural disasters, terrorist attacks, recession and still bounced back. Again, don’t lose hope just yet.
Let your customers know you care about health and safety
Some may argue that people have heard enough of COVID. But, realistically, would you ever want to do any sort of transaction with a business that seems to not care about health and safety? NO, right? Then follow the example and include health and safety in all your messaging across your socials and other platforms. Your customers will appreciate you for it and since the pandemic isn’t really going to go anywhere anytime soon, when they do start to travel, they will have muscle-memoried that you are one of those businesses that care about their well-being. The bottom line? Keep posting your content out there, be sensitive and emotionally intelligent. It will bring you rewards.
So what should you do then?
Keep creating content and planning contingencies. Think about how you can leverage what is available now and encourage people to engage in safe and healthy travel. Think about collaboration over competition and most importantly, hold on to that hope, that the businesses will recover.
Based on an article published on Entrepreneur.com
Header Image by: Nazly Ahamed