The tourism sector has been severely affected by this pandemic on a global scale. There was a drop in April of around 54.5%. Therefore, it is a sector that needs to reinvent itself and there is a new way of doing tourism, which is being observed in countries that are gradually starting to open up, after their cases of this disease.

The trend towards a boom in domestic tourism, when it is possible to travel, should take into account some issues that are considered very important. In order for this chain to operate, it is believed that it will be necessary to reduce the costs of immediacy, if hotels and restaurants will have a lower income. It is natural that travel agencies will reduce their commissions. 

Everyone involved in a trip will have to earn less when the product is a mass-market product, with many people returning to travel. When it comes to luxury products or those that are more expensive, there will be another opportunity, with those people who would travel to other countries looking for alternatives like Brazil, due to the higher dollar.

The truth is that travel after this pandemic will become more complex and it is not yet known for sure what travel patterns will be like in the future. Time will tell and the dynamics of new travelers will determine this rule. We need to seek a new vision with the private sector, with large investors and see how their businesses are being affected, with regard to tourism.

Characteristics of this tourist recovery

It is a time to rethink everything, such as the non-face-to-face events that are taking place or that are happening online. How creativity is flourishing and how domestic tourism will behave towards its travelers. Currently, people are opening new businesses, holding live broadcasts and with a great ally, which is the internet.

Before this pandemic, consumers were already very demanding, looking for quality and safety. Now they will look for destinations that are closer to home. There is a belief that domestic tourism can be organized, with road tourism certainly returning with full force, both by car and bus. By car, people will be able to travel distances of up to three hours in the same day.

Travelers will also seek out places without crowds, which leads us to believe that rural tourism will become more popular as a form of appeal or a beautiful attraction. The World Tourism Organization states that it will be necessary to attract and motivate people so that they can go to rural areas or be closer to nature.

Corporate tourism will take place in a different way. These are important events that will take on a different format, since companies need this relationship, along with a country's trade and industry. Technical-scientific events will take place, but in a new format, with a trend towards mixed events, that is, virtual and in-person.

In-person events will no longer be those with many people crowded together, with more than a thousand people. What is expected is that they will be small events, with people divided into rooms, with all precautions taken to prevent the spread of this virus, which reproduces for many people in a closed environment. All companies are taking precautions.

Ways to get around this situation 

We need to think about tourism, about projects that need to be developed and that must be carried out safely. One example is national parks, where we need to know the impact they have on people. In a parking lot, we need to control the number of tickets sold. 

In Fernando de Noronha, what is happening there at the moment should serve as an example for the tourism sector. It is a place that has a positive impact on the city, with all the care and regulations that have been established so as not to affect people, since everyone there makes a living from tourism, with mass tourism, going through a new tourism, which is very different from what we know.

Many experts in this sector believe that in 2021, we will slowly resume all activities and even then, with all possible precautions. The year 2020 is practically over and done with. This is no different for tourism. It is difficult to arrange travel, as there is no security, generating a lot of distrust and no vaccine for the Coronavirus has yet been discovered.

Many sectors still require physical contact, meaning that nothing beats this contact in an experience that is part of tourism. There is still a lot of concern in this sector. Nothing beats creativity. Brazilians are considered a very creative people and many ways will be sought to overcome this situation. This year will be a year to think about all these alternatives.

Hotels are already thinking about this search for a new tomorrow, such as using their rooms for a new practice that has taken off at this time, which is home office, not just for overnight stays but for work, recreational or educational activities. All housing units will be transformed and are already being transformed. Everything needs to be thought through.

The recovery of tourism  

A recovery as it was before this pandemic could take 2 to 3 years and if there is a good equation for a life called a new normal. In Brazil, this reopening will depend on a series of factors, its various states, municipalities and their different moments. This new normal will be an intermediate phase further ahead and with a great impact on tourism.

Tourism will have to adapt, with the use of masks, with much more frequent sanitization in places, with some social distancing. Depending on the circumstances of the virus's contamination, this crisis will be mitigated, with the emergence of medicines and the much-researched vaccine. For a full return in the tourism sector, we will have to get used to this whole situation first.