It is no secret to anyone that the health crisis continues in the whole world and to date has been present for more than 1 year and 6 months. In this regard, the aforementioned Pandemic has had many effects not only in health, but also in economic and even environmental terms.
However, in this article I want to share specifically the challenges I have had as a student of tourism, an industry that, without a doubt, has been one of the most affected worldwide. And how not to say it, if the closures of airports, borders, hotels, recreational centers, among others, have meant the dismissal of thousands of workers due to the definitive bankruptcy of companies dedicated to this important human activity, among many other consequences.
The case of Tourism students
For those of us who are tourism students, it has been a real challenge, since all our programming had become 100% virtual. Consequently, this has meant canceling tours, supervised practices, field work with communities and organizations, exchanges, in short, a number of actions that would not have been imagined before and that without we cannot contribute to the development of tourism specialists and thus increasing the uncertainty about our future.
But as mentioned before, these have been just added challenges. It should also be recognized that tourism, despite being highly susceptible to certain types of threats, always manages to evolve and thus overcome them.
In this sense, future professionals in this promising industry have been forming under this line of action. Virtual interaction has allowed us to strengthen technological areas that were not given much importance before and that, today, are becoming a fundamental need.
This has allowed us to use our imagination, which, although it sounds strange, it becomes a kind of learning and simulation tool for various topics that are part of our curricular offerings. Additionally, it has made us explore other forms of non-verbal communication which are important communication techniques with others.
Our love of tourism
And among so many qualities in which we have been forming, is our love for tourism, because we do not renounce this industry and, far from being discouraged, this situation commits us contributing to the evolution of tourism, adapting it to new challenges; that is, to the new reality that COVID-19 has led us to.
Finally, I have no choice but to motivate other tourism students to continue their training and contribute to this thriving industry, which needs us today more than ever before, since we are committed to it and are also part of the new generation of professionals of this field in Costa Rica.
