Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

The tourism sector has been severely impacted by the measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. While measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are likely to continue (e.g. overseas travel restrictions) as restrictions ease, there may be opportunities to pivot and drive additional demand for domestic tourism. Consider:

• Create domestic tourism profiles (e.g. Tourism Research Australia) that describe who visitors are, what they want to do, and where potential opportunities lie for different destinations to target and attract new domestic visitors:
  • When creating profiles, partner with tourism agencies that have expert knowledge on the needs and priorities of different demographics
  • Make the information publicly available, so that local governments and tourism businesses can work together to plan recovery and domestic tourism marketing strategies
• Appoint a local Culture and Tourism liaison, partner with local tourist operators and businesses, and initiate targeted programmes to attract domestic tourists to local areas
• Seek funding and resources to support the re-generation or renewal of local tourism and culture businesses (e.g. heritage sites), e.g. based on knowledge gained from domestic tourism profiles, identify what businesses can do and provide guidance and financial support for them to pivot their offering to maximise their trading potential
• Partner with transport providers (e.g. train operators) and offer discounted fares to encourage domestic travel over the summer months (in line with national COVID-19 guidelines)
• Engage with large corporations and companies to explore the potential of conference style events that bring teams together, in response to the shift towards remote working
• Create promotions, packages and experiences to attract and grow holidays linked to conference-style events, or people who are looking to work remotely in a holiday location (e.g. mid-week offers)

Many local/town centre businesses will be micro- and small-medium enterprises (MSMEs) that have been severely impacted by the pandemic and lack internal resources to support recovery. In Pakistan, MSMEs contribute 40% to GDP and are critical to the economy, as they are in many other countries. In developing support strategies for local businesses and MSMEs, it is important to recognise that the pandemic has changed working practices and locations, and how we shop and entertain ourselves. Small businesses may not have the resources to access the type of data that can inform them on these potential changes to consumer habits, which in turn could impact trade levels as restrictions ease and these businesses re-open. Local governments can support them by facilitating access to this information. Consider:

• Build capacity of local government staff to undertake local economic assessments and develop small town regeneration and renewal plans (e.g. train staff to conduct economic impact assessments to identify businesses that may struggle post-lockdown and strategies that will support local economy recovery)
• Engage with local businesses, MSMEs and organisations that represent them (e.g.FSB UK) to draw on their perspectives and expertise when developing recovery and renewal plans
• Identify what has gone well in previous phases of re-opening, what could be improved and the support needs of these businesses (e.g. management of queues/health and safety measures to mitigate and contain the virus)
• Provide support grants to MSMEs for business regeneration or local marketing strategies to promote local businesses
• Conduct local and regional consumer habit surveys, in partnership with neighbouring local authorities, to identify the expectations of local consumers, and their potentially changed habits
• Communicate findings rapidly to local businesses so that they are informed and can prepare/pivot their businesses appropriately
• Develop an evidence-based local economic strategy that recognises changed consumer habits and demands, in partnership with local businesses
• Provide guidance to local businesses on how to adapt and where new business opportunities may lie (renewal)
• Signpost local businesses, particularly MSMEs, to training for digital skills and to advice on finance/investment in new technologies
• Develop a mechanism whereby local government can share lessons and knowledge between each other easily to learn from each other (e.g. collaborative 'light touch' impact assessments as described in Briefing A)

The live music and entertainment industry has been heavily affected by the pandemic, with the majority of live events cancelled in 2020. A targeted contact tracing programme could enable the return of live entertainments events and keep the public safe, by identifying and containing a spread of the virus quickly. The contribution of the live entertainment industry to the economy is vast, and critical for GDP, generating employment and attracting tourism. Consider:

• Contact tracing as a targeted initiative to enable the return of live entertainment
• Scope costs of such an initiative and assess affordability:
  • Consider regional collaboration to lower costs
  • Seek funding or grant support, e.g. Arts Councils
• Establish and train a dedicated events contact tracing team to:
  • Provide contact tracing services
  • Develop educational materials for events companies, their employees, and customers
  • Provide on-site environmental health consulting to assist events businesses and venues in being COVID-safe
  • Support businesses in scheduling appointments at testing facilities
• Design an incentive and enforcement scheme to encourage commitment to a contact tracing programme and the implementation of COVID-19 safety measures
• Introduce an audit and certification programme to approve live events (see TMB Issue 28 for guidance on certification programmes)

Regional imbalances have created varying levels of economic impact on local economies. Areas that relied heavily on tourism and sport/music events prior to the pandemic are suffering disproportionate levels of unemployment and loss of trade. Consider a targeted local economic recovery strategy to boost tourism post-pandemic in local economies that have been hit hardest:

• Develop new tourism packages and make them appropriate for post-pandemic tourism, e.g. taking into consideration the potential need for social distancing, for vaccination passports to travel, and for meeting expectations of COVID-safe measures that tourists will have
• Recognise the opportunity to renew approaches to local tourism by adopting a community-centred tourism framework:
  • Redefine and reorientate tourism based on the rights and interests of local communities and local people
  • Involve local businesses, tourism boards and the community in developing targeted strategies to rejuvenate local tourism, that are beneficial to the whole community and geographical area
  • Create partnerships with local businesses and the local tourism board to develop a collaborative marketing plan to attract tourism
• Support local businesses in gaining core health and safety certifications by offering advice on how to gain certification and who to go to for auditing and certification awards
• Work with community voluntary groups to gain certifications such as 'Blue Flag Beach/Tidy Towns' to promote environmental and quality standards that will assist in marketing your local area to potential tourists
• Prepare a targeted marketing strategy to promote local areas when tourism returns, which communicates how the health and safety of visitors is central
• Collaborate with national tourism organisations (e.g. Visit Britain) and large holiday companies to promote domestic tourism
• Provide advice and temporary financial support (e.g. moratoriums on council tax) for local businesses directly involved in tourism (e.g. guest houses, to support their short-term financial viability)

In Australia, local government are undertaking capability gap assessments to identify sectors that lack enough skilled personnel to undertake recovery projects. In New Zealand, the government is focusing on the role of the construction industry in positively impacting the economy and are implementing programmes to upskill trades people in preparation for building works. In addition, both countries are reinstating apprenticeships in vocational jobs such as construction, plumbing and electrical work to support young people, and short/long-term economic regeneration.