travel and tourism

Pivoting the Business: Small Business Survival in Travel and Tourism

Pivoting the Business:  Small Business Survival in Travel and Tourism

It might be assumed that MSMEs that deliver services to travelers will be unable to manage at all. As an example, if no one is coming to the visit the city, site or beach, what good are tour operators or local guides? However, smaller firms should not despair. For many companies, it is possible to pivot and offer travel and tourism services online. AirBnB, for instance, has been developing an innovative lineup of “experiences” from their local hosts that are in hot demand. Many of these offerings even come with substantial price tags for customers, allowing firms to generate revenue in a purely virtual world. It may even be the case that some firms offering extremely popular experiences make more money in the downturn than before, as a global audience can provide more customers than those requiring a physical presence. What do these travel experiences look like? Could be learning the secrets of Japanese whiskey, frying spring rolls with a street vendor in Bangkok, creating a storybook for the whole family with an author in Mexico, or taking a scuba “tour” with a local guide in the Maldives. Customers might sign up for virtual walking “tours” of far-flung locations like temples or forests in Bhutan or opt to make sangria with drag queens in Spain. Innovative offerings from creative MSMEs could dramatically expand the concept of travel, leaving customers even more eager to experience something similar in person once flights and travel resume. Destinations that weren’t anywhere on a personal “bucket list” could shoot up during a time of lockdown and travel disruptions.