WTCF Holds the Online Panel "New Normal, New Practices" Focusing on Post-Pandemic Development of Urban Tourism

On 9 March, ITB Berlin NOW 2021 kicked off. As the exclusive co-host of the ITB Convention, World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) held a special online expert panel named "New Normal, New Practices" on 11 March. Professionals from the academia, the private sector and cities attended the panel, and discussed the recovery and development of urban tourism amid the normalized pandemic prevention and control.

The forum was moderated by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Arlt, CEO of China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, and began with the keynote speech "City Swop - Cultural Exchange: Generating New Forms of Urban Tourism" delivered by Mr. Philip Dodd. The session was highlighted with discussions of international experts from the Global Tourism Economy Forum, Airbnb, Trip.com and ForwardKeys, addressing the topics from "What will be the new normal and what new practices we will take", "What services will be offered to for different source market tourists", "Will special attention be paid to new-type tourism source markets including China", "Which cities or regions will come out stronger from this crisis" to "Will tourists be able to find ideal destinations in their local community".

Online panel

The experts summarized useful experience in tourism recovery and development under the normalized pandemic prevention and control, and offered suggestions for further improving urban tourism experience.

Presentation by Wolfgang and Dodd

Here you can download Report on World Economy Tourism Trends (2021)