Cultural Tourism in the Adriatic Ionian Macro Region: Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 and the Potential for a Sustainable Restart

This note presents an assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the Cultural Tourism sector in the Adriatic-Ionian region (ADRION) and discusses the strategies and policies for the restart. The analysis is based on a survey among stakeholders: entrepreneurs, representatives of local administrations, managers of cultural institutions, experts of the cultural tourism sector. The survey was conducted in six countries of the ADRION region: Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Serbia Greece. The unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of economic impact, global scale and foreseeable duration, determined the choice of methodology. A direct dialogue with stakeholders was the only feasible methodology to deepen the understanding of the impact of the crisis, and carry out a preliminary assessment of the proposed strategies for the recovery. Among this note’s key findings, is that the impact of the pandemic on the cultural tourism sector could be very heterogeneous. One of the main risks could be an increase in inequalities, in the sectorial income, employment, investment, due to varying impact of the crisis and capacity to recover. Substantial differences of the impact of the crisis depend on the weight of tourism in the local economies, the share of small and micro firms, the share of tourist infrastructures offering free public services (not revenue generating bodies) on the side of those market oriented. Regarding the strategies for the recovery, stakeholders and experts are divided among those that consider the COVID-19 a factor of structural change to a more sustainable model, reducing the impact of overtourism, and others that bet on the resilience of the sector, that could return to a steady growth with the same business model which preceded the crisis. In all cases, the recovery and development of cultural tourism will depend not only on short-term measures, which are still necessary to avoid the bankruptcy of otherwise sustainable businesses and jobs, but also on long-term investments for the recovery on both the supply and demand side. In the long term, most of the interviewed agreed on the need for large, direct subsidies to mitigate the income loss produced by the crisis, especially among SMEs, and revenue generating institutions. Also, the urgent need of specific measures to support the preservation of the human capital in the cultural industries was mentioned. Further, investments to support the adjustment to the new health and safety measures, and to strengthen both the human capital and technology necessary to provide innovative instruments for cultural tourism. The instruments include innovative services to plan and manage tourists flows, like web platforms for the management of reservations, and the safety and sustainability of tourism activities, structural upgrading of tourist infrastructures to the new sustainability standards, as well as multimedia products and services to complement and enrich touristic services. New instruments for the regulation of the European principle of freedom of movement, are also considered. “Safe corridors” or an evolution of the initial proposals, could become instruments for an effective management of international tourism during geopolitical, environmental, or health crises. Regarding the promotion of a new tourism model, the model of “proximity tourism”, which was introduced as a forced choice during the lockdowns, could become at least a component of a new sustainable cultural tourism. However, according to the stakeholders, this model cannot become a single choice in the ADRION area, that in large part depends on global demand. All these innovations will be critical factors for the future of cultural tourism. At the same time, the significant financial and human resources that will be needed for the structural adjustment could worsen the already dramatic inequalities within the ADRION region. Strong public sector support will be essential to mitigate these risks.