March seventeenth: A major day, and never simply because it’s the opening evening of Skift India Discussion board right here in Delhi. 5 years in the past, virtually to the day, the journey business got here to a screeching halt.
On March 14, 2020, I wrote an essay titled “The Day the World Stopped Touring” — an try and seize, in actual time, the sheer magnitude of what was unfolding. I posted it on the fifteenth, and by the seventeenth, the world had modified in methods we couldn’t but totally grasp. International locations locked down, borders slammed shut, airways grounded, and an business constructed on motion discovered itself frozen.
Our personal workplace in New York shut down, by no means to return. We grew to become a completely distant firm, like so many others. And now, right here in India, wanting again at these 5 years, I discover myself asking: What did we be taught? What did we fail to be taught? And what really modified?
On the Skift India Discussion board, we’ll unpack these questions. The nice, the dangerous, and the issues that have been supposed to vary however didn’t. As a result of if there’s one factor about disruption, it’s that it both forces transformation or accelerates what was already in movement.
And within the case of journey? It was an acceleration.
The Trade Shifted, However Did It Evolve?
Even earlier than Covid, the journey business was deep into its digital transformation. Cellular bookings, automation, contactless every part — these developments have been already gaining floor. The pandemic merely sped them up. However right here’s the factor: not all acceleration is progress.
Take automation, as an example. Sure, it made journey extra environment friendly, however at what value? We automated away a whole lot of the human contact that made journey really feel particular. AI, as we now comprehend it, wasn’t even within the dialog again then. Now, it’s reshaping every part — although, let’s be actual, journey remains to be basically human. You may’t AI your manner into real hospitality.
Then there’s service requirements, which took a nosedive throughout Covid and, at the least within the West, by no means totally recovered. What began as a crucial measure — much less every day housekeeping, fewer private interactions — grew to become the brand new regular, largely as a result of it was cheaper. That’s the factor with chopping again: As soon as corporations understand they’ll get away with much less, they hardly ever return to extra.
And let’s discuss overtourism. It went from over- to under- throughout the pandemic, however it’s now again with a vengeance — solely this time, we don’t hear the time period as a lot. Humorous, contemplating we at Skift coined it again in 2016. I argued final yr that we should always retire the phrase as a result of it had turn out to be a blunt instrument, a solution to blame vacationers reasonably than handle the actual situation: poor vacation spot administration. However make no mistake, overtourism is worse than ever.
The New (and Not-So-New) Challenges
Economically, airways and motels have had record-breaking years, but there’s a lingering concern of a downturn. A part of that concern is financial nationalism — tightening borders, stricter visa insurance policies, immigration restrictions. Whereas leisure journey has roared again, long-term mobility — individuals relocating, migrating — has turn out to be a lot tougher. That’s the paradox: Extra individuals touring than ever, however fewer transferring throughout borders in significant methods.
Then there’s sustainability. Consciousness has grown, however let’s be trustworthy: Individuals nonetheless don’t wish to pay additional for sustainable selections. Survey after survey says vacationers care about sustainability, however in the case of precise spending? The numbers don’t add up. That’s why we began a devoted local weather vertical at Skift this yr, as a result of there’s nonetheless a lot untapped potential in local weather tech for journey.
And whereas we’re on the subject of issues getting worse — spiritual nationalism, rising air pollution in locations like India, rising security considerations for girls vacationers — there’s no sugarcoating that some facets of journey are more difficult now than pre-pandemic.
The Silver Linings
Not every part is bleak. Various media voices have risen. Direct channels — e mail, newsletters, Substack — are thriving, giving locations and types extra methods to achieve vacationers with out counting on Fb’s ever-changing algorithms. Podcasts, YouTube, and Instagram have stepped in as dominant platforms, particularly in markets like India the place TikTok is banned.
And one factor has been confirmed 100 instances over: Individuals will all the time wish to journey.
It doesn’t matter what.
On the top of the pandemic, I printed 100+ questions for the journey business — questions we would have liked to reply in a post-Covid world. Most of them? Both ignored, outdated, or made irrelevant by the sheer resilience of human curiosity.
As a result of at its core, journey is probably the most aspirational expression of being human.
As quickly as individuals have the means, they wish to see the world. That has by no means modified, and it by no means will.
Wanting Forward
I think about myself a expertise maximalist — not an early adopter, however a believer that tech will clear up lots of our largest challenges if used with the proper intentions. Whether or not it’s higher gas effectivity in aviation, smarter useful resource use in motels, or AI-powered dwell translation breaking down language boundaries, expertise will proceed to form the way forward for journey.
However it will possibly’t substitute the essence of it.
So right here we’re, 5 years after the day the world stopped touring. Tonight, we collect in Delhi, tomorrow in Gurgaon, and past that? We maintain transferring ahead.
Right here’s to hoping 2025 surprises us in methods we’re not anticipating—hopefully for the higher.
See you on the market.
