Post-Pandemic Branding & Marketing For the Tourism Industry

It’s no secret that the tourism industry has endured a tough time through the covid-19 pandemic. With governments restricting incoming – and in some cases, outgoing – tourists, many people who live in tourist destinations and rely on tourism as a means of making a living have experienced the some of the worst side of the pandemic. 

However, we’re seeing restrictions lifted and tourism slowly starting to increase. As I write this, I am sitting in a cafe in Bali, Indonesia. When we talk to warung owners, taxi drivers, and tour guides, we hear the same story; it was tough for the last two years. Many businesses that rely on tourism have had to shut down. Many families are reverting back to things they used to do to survive before tourism was a thing: rice farming, seaweed farming, other agricultural pursuits, or menial labor. 

But things have started to look up again after Indonesia opened its borders to tourists again. Especially with the PCR test requirement released just a few weeks ago, we’ve been starting to see a lot more travelers even in our three weeks here.

So, this is the golden window. Not only in Bali, but in many parts of the world where tourism is just now starting to pick up again. How can you come back with a bang, with hopes to somewhat make up for the losses of the pandemic? What are the things you should be attentive of as you place your brand in front of potential travelers again? Here are the top 3 things.

1. COVID-19 is still a thing; don’t dismiss it.

While governments are lifting restrictions and tourism is on the rise again, we can’t mistake the pandemic to be over. People are still getting covid-19 – in fact, more than ever – and there are still deaths and life-changing side effects as a result. While travelers are getting bolder, they’re still wary.

This isn’t the time to be like “Goodbye, pandemic! It’s been real.” It’s a time to make sure that your tourism operations include safety and health measures that allows each tourist to feel safe during their time with you. Provide free masks and hand sanitizer, or conduct activities in open areas with plenty of air coming through. Make sure to emphasize that sanitization is happening regularly and in between customers, and that you care about their health and wellbeing. 

Of course, there is the other side of the coin – the “Goodbye, pandemic!” side that people are embracing the return to the old normal. It’s a fine line between managing everyone’s safety and giving each customer the experience they’re traveling for. The easiest thing is to have both readily available!

2. Pricing has always been a tricky business, and the pandemic has only made it worse.

Even before COVID-19, pricing in the tourism industry has been highly competitive and relatively difficult to navigate. As a seasonal industry with fast trends and countless socio-political-economic environmental contributors, it’s no wonder the tourism industry can change nearly overnight when the world shifts a little bit.

Of course, a great example of that is the pandemic. Surely not overnight, but for many avid travelers, it certainly seemed like suddenly, everything was off limits. Now, as the world opens up for travel and tourism again, the same travelers are finding that prices are fluctuating so fast they can’t keep up.

Flights are the best example of this. Because less people are traveling to this day despite regulations easing up, airlines are caught between wanting to make up for lost revenue and providing great deals to entice more travelers to start using their services again. So travelers are seeing some great deals sometimes and then ridiculous surge prices at others.

Based on whether your pricing model is cost-based, market-based, or competitor-based, the approach you take to walk the fine line of pricing during this “post-pandemic” era will be different. And yet, the key message is the same for everyone in tourism: keep your pricing standardized and predictable, don’t let your customers feel like they’re getting tricked, and stay as transparent as possible. 

3. Find creative ways to continue to provide people with the travel experience! 

This has applied since the pandemic first began and borders started to shut down, and the tourism industry was hit with a major setback. Companies had to start to get creative to stay not only relevant but keep their brand in front of their customers. 

Some great examples are VR tours and livestreams. From major brands like National Geographic to all sorts of freelancers on YouTube, everyone embarked to fill the travel void when the pandemic first locked people inside indefinitely. The internet was suddenly overflowing with videos and digital interactions that could take hopeful travelers near and far, from the Grand Canyon to the canals of Venice, Italy.

Now that people are traveling again though, you’re not restricted to these virtual types of interactions. There’s no better time to find a way to connect those virtual experiences into a real-life experience to entice travelers to use your services in person. Don’t let the time your team spent innovating virtual solutions go to waste either; it can be a great asset to enhance your customer experience!

Work in the tourism industry and want a free 30-minute consultation? Contact us today!