Samenvatting

In March of 2020, the CEO and founder of travel operator City Wonders, Simone Gozzi, stated that his company can no longer operate in its current form. With the impact of the coronavirus pandemic simply being too immense, the company was, in his own words, forced to hibernate. Within the span of a week, City Wonders saw its trajectory tumbling from double-digit growth to a non-existing revenue that lasted for over five months. At the moment, his company is entirely dependent on the tourism sites in the countries it does business in. When the tourist attractions, for whatever reason that may be, are forced to close, the company immediately loses its entire revenue stream. And since the travel industry is vulnerable to many different types of unanticipated threats, like natural disasters, terroristic activity and virus pandemics, it is crucial to develop a contingency plan for when they, albeit sporadically, arise. Using a set of structured interviews and questionnaires, the question was poised whether the hiatus period ultimately could have been less unsettling. The research with the competitors and the target audience furthermore explored other revenue streams that could have been exploited in the meantime. The research has shown that the company could have suffered less from the pandemic if it had leveraged its partnerships more and had adopted a separate product range, including virtual vacations and domestic travel opportunities. The domestic travel package includes rural and outdoor activities that are always accessible; even during severe pandemics.