Abstract:
COVID-19 brought travel as we know it to a complete standstill. At the time it was believed that the impact of
the pandemic was unprecedented and that the projected recovery would need to be both different and
transformative. This was particularly evident from a product (supply) point of view given the renewed attempts
to increase tourists (demand) to destinations. As a result of this hiatus, the travel industry needed to reconsider
the shape and form of the tourism product in order to revive and ensure its sustainability. The objective of this
investigation is to demonstrate how the product (supply) could be remodelled in a destabilised environment as a
contingency plan so as to maintain and sustain tourist arrivals (demand) in the wake of any internal crises and
other external emergencies. As a result, this article presents research on a newly devised novel approach to
remodel the actual supply-side of the domestic tourism value chain so as to become more resilient and resistant.
In principle this remodelling hones in on stimulating the development of a tourism product that takes into account
other dimensions that were not formerly or conventionally regarded as part of the hyper-local touristic experience.
