Authenticity still reigns supreme in reaching customers and gaining followers, especially now. COVID-19’s shutdown opened the door for smart marketers and influencers to entertain and engage followers in surprising ways that didn’t require huge investments.

COVID-19 gave us the opportunity to look behind the curtain and understand the simplicity of authenticity and why it works. For example, Tim Tiller, security guard at National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, took over the social media accounts when the museum was forced to close like everyone else last March.

Tiller was an essential employee and had to absorb the social media duties. His awkward attempts were funny and charming. We could all identify with his struggle because we all wore multiple hats in the past year.

NPR noted that Tiller’s posts were most effective in building an audience with more than 275,000 Twitter followers and nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook, respectively.

The World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage (WTACH) and the Culture Heritage Economic Alliance (CHEA) signed an agreement to focus on cultural, heritage tourism for post-COVID travel recovery, according to Hospitality Net.

With an operational MOU, WTACH and CHEA are ready to begin working with businesses to ensure best practices, educate and train and advocate for better conservation, funding and access. Together, they hope to benefit local tourism in a post-pandemic world with an emphasis on locations in emerging economies.

“In partnership with WTACH, we aim to deliver capacity building and tourism readiness training for local stakeholders, cultural preservation and tourism marketing and development consultancy — in short, a full support program to destinations and industry, big or small, new or old, that want to get culture and heritage tourism right,” founder & CEO of CHEA Stephanie Jones said.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) released a joint report titled “Boosting Tourism Development through Intellectual Property,” according to BW Hotelier.

The new report provides guidance for those inexperienced with IP on how to integrate this tool in tourism product development. The report suggests using IP strategy in national tourism plans and tourism policy strategy for regional and local areas, utilizing geographical location and origin to support rural tourism.

Despite challenges to the tourism sector post-pandemic, Director General of WIPO Daren Tang and Secretary General of UNWTO Zurab Pololikashvili predict in a joint forward that the tourism sector will recover as it adapts to new changes.

“In this context, IP rights are powerful tools that can be used to boost tourism development and competitiveness,” they wrote in the report.

A post-pandemic world is bringing with it traveler optimism, record vaccinations and feelings of safety, leading to a positive outlook for summer travel. About 87 percent of Americans anticipate taking vacations, business trips and family visitation. Nearly 75 percent expect travel destinations such as resorts, beaches, concerts and venues to be very busy or crowded this summer.

Despite an anticipated busy summer for the travel industry, consumer price expectations haven’t quite caught up with demand. About half of travelers expect less expensive lodging and airfare in comparison to pre-pandemic levels. About 40.4 percent feel that this summer will be a “buyer’s market.”