Future of tourism attractions discussed at ATM Virtual DUBAI, 6 hours, 58 minutes ago During the virtual element of the 28th edition of Arabian Travel Market (ATM), Arival’s Co-Founder and CEO Douglas Quinby shared exclusive Arival research carried out with 1,500 respondents on the outlook for tours, activities, attractions, and key trends shaping the sector’s revival post-Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the research, although Global Gross Bookings in tours, activities, and attractions in 2020 were down by 80 per cent, which is hardly a surprise, the impact of the downturn was uneven with mixed experiences across regions and variations from market to market.
Arival’s research identified that almost all operators (99 per cent) implemented health and safety measures and that in a sector that previously lagged 10-15 years behind the travel and tourism industry in digitisation, there has been rapid adoption of technologies for online booking. Virtual tours were also a popular way for platforms to try and stay connected to their customers and generate some revenue. However, only 16 per cent of operators tried to launch virtually, with mixed results. The research also found that as travel resumes, self-guided tours and experiences will become a viable alternative to large group experiences.