Resilience and recovery: The role of tourism tech in times of disruption

If you take a wide view of the past 25 years, it’s hard not to be amazed by tourism’s tenacity.

The industry has weathered the September 11 attacks, the SARS and MERS outbreaks, a global financial collapse, the COVID-19 pandemic, and now, a world marked by war, geopolitical tension, and economic conflict.

And yet the travel industry, and the dynamic leaders and organizations behind it, persists through relentless resilience.

The numbers speak volumes. According to the World Bank, even major shocks like the 2008 recession caused only modest dips in international arrivals. And COVID-19's impact on the long-term growth curve? It kept climbing. In 2024, international tourism nearly matched pre-pandemic levels, and Q1 2025 saw a 5% increase over the previous year.

Tourism doesn’t just recover. It rebounds with purpose.

In this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, we’re talking about resilience — not just of the industry, but of the people and platforms that power it.

Our guest knows better than most.

DMO Market Strategist and founding partner of Simpleview Ryan George has guided hundreds of destinations through disruption, from analog to digital, and now into the era of artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and citizen connectivity.

Together, we’ll explore the pressing questions of how:

• Tourism technology must now live at the intersection of public trust, civic function, and stakeholder value and quality of life.
• Travel must engage and empower citizens and communities.
• To open new doors for collaboration.

Let’s dig in.