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INDUSTRY CONFIDENTIAL
Check in every issue for the unfiltered thoughts of our guest writers and contributors as they discuss the hottest topics in sports tourism. Join the conversation by tweeting us @pushsports. In this issue our guest writer discusses the subject of overcoming adversity.
When we look back on this pandemic in the foreseeable yet distant future, we will have to look at what made this so different and whether the recovery was as predicted. Depending on who’s camp you are in, the optimistic hopefuls, or the cautiously pessimistic, you will need to use this experience as a framework for the challenge that follows next.
Those of us that make our living by advising others on what the next path may be and trends in our marketplaces have never seen anything like this before. (Any consultant or advisor that says they have, you shouldn’t hire them.) But, we have survived the last two upheavals to the tourism and sports industry and, therefore, have more insight than some at this place in time.
Reviewing the industry’s historical data has led us to believe that it will make a remarkable rebound. Life will be good again, and people will travel all over the world with sports leading the way (no shit). What I think needs to be examined is the path to how and when this will happen.
During the early 2000s (said like it was a lifetime ago), we faced another type of crisis that shook us to the core of our being. An attack on our home soil, we had a clear enemy, and our response was to go off and fight. At that time, tourism took a wallop; people were afraid to get on planes and felt unsafe in large crowds (sound familiar?). However, protocols were put in place that mitigated the threat. We found the long lines at the airport and arenas intrusive, but over time we adjusted, as humans do, and things proceeded back to normal (oops lousy choice of words) things moved on. The country was at war (still is), and we, as a society, accepted our new way of life. Travel picked up again with further adjustments, and we went about sending our children and ourselves out into the world for sports and play. At the time, we didn’t necessarily think of sport leading the way, but it did. Professional sports went back to doing their thing; youth sports continued; even the Olympics were held just a few years later. Crisis averted... until the next one.
What did we learn?
First, sometimes shit is going to happen in this world that you can’t control. A bunch of guys flying planes into a New York skyscraper isn’t something you can predict or see coming. It’s an unforeseen or uncontrollable circumstance with measured and controllable results. Meaning, we couldn’t predict the action, but we as an industry measured and developed effects. This action led to higher security at events, better accountability for athlete safety, and new jobs for retired law enforcement officers as security consultants.
Jump ahead a few years (7 to be exact) things are good. The economy hummed along, but there was a storm brewing that most either didn’t see coming or just ignored. The bottom fell out of our market, and unfortunately, self-inflicted this time. Bottom line, no money. People lost their livelihoods, many lost their homes, and again the tourism industry took it on the chin (beginning to see a pattern?) Folks didn’t want to stop vacationing they had too.
The one thing that emerged from this was that somehow, parents still found a way for their children to participate in sports. The sport their kids were involved in became a catalyst for the family to come together and vacation, dubbed “Playcations” (I can’t make this shit up). Again, amid a severe economic downturn created by our own greed, the tourism industry found its way back by developing opportunities to enjoy sports and vacations in the same weekend. Brilliant!
In this scenario, I would agree that sports led the way, creating stays based on shorter times but with more frequency. With the meetings market done for a while, this was a way for destinations to keep filling hotels, and it elevated the sport tourism industry to new heights. I remember receiving a 14% increase in my budget for sports events while my colleagues in the office took 14% budget decreases. I distinctly remember someone using the term “we will do more with less,” well that’s just stupid, you can only do less with less. My point is that out of the ashes of chaos, sports tourism and events rose to new levels. We created metrics that are still in use today, room nights, economic impact, direct spending yada yada. You get the point.
For the better part of ten plus years, we knew no bounds. The recovery was slow, but we spent the money we had to create and support the organizers on our market fringe. Many new event organizations came out of this period; I like to refer to this time as the “we got a shit ton of money” period. But we got through it, tourism again prospered.
To recap so far, we have had a catastrophe we didn’t see coming brought on by people that shook the nation to its core and challenged us as a country to rise above. We did that, CHECK. We had a human-made calamity brought on by greed that shut down the country and created one of the most significant meltdowns of our financial markets. But we adjusted and came out on the other side as a healthy industry that employs millions. CHECK.
Fast forward ten years, to a unique microscopic bug that is highly contagious and can be highly fatal. I want to stop my ramblings at this point to let that soak in. COVID19 – Coronavirus has devastated our way of life, our community and has brought the world to a standstill. All of the things I previously mentioned rolled into one big poop show. 2020 has delivered a period of fear, panic, market freefall, and death globally. Our industry, tourism, and sports have suffered tremendous losses to jobs, financial security, and in some cases, our health and well-being (physical and mental).
What have we learned from this so far? Like the past tragic examples, this, too, will eventually end. We have to trust science and prepare for providing the next level of security for our friends, neighbors, and guests. We won’t like it at first, but as humans, we are adaptable, so we will grow to accept it. As an industry, we may have to look inward again and redevelop our methods for success. Some may be more community-centric and engage with multiple other groups.
I am beginning to despise the term “New Normal” there is nothing normal about this; it is, however, our “New Existence.” Using face masks, social distancing, and instructing people to wash their hands (still can’t believe we had to do that) are the beginning changes we have to adopt as our industry begins to recover. Each destination (city) will develop a plan of action for hosting indoor and outdoor events. It will be essential to initially hire a specialist in these areas to help navigate how these things will impact your end-users. Remember earlier I mentioned retired officers? This time, it could be nurses, doctors, and event logistics specialists hired to help reduce risks and develop how events will be conducted safely.
The question to reflect on in the future will be, did you act or react to this crisis? Also, what have we learned? The new industry leaders that will emerge from this are individuals that acted; if you are wondering which one you are, then you are in the second group.
I don’t know exactly how this story will end; there are still too many twists and turns in the plot to figure it out. What I do know is that the landscape of tourism has changed yet again, as it has before and will again. How we move forward as an industry and a tourism community will be measured by how we conduct ourselves amid a crisis. In the chaos, there is an opportunity, time to reset our industry, take inventory, and prepare ourselves for what’s next.
These are my thoughts based on years of experience, not just in tourism. Some of you will like it. Some won’t. It doesn’t matter. What is important is that we take stock and learn.
