Abstract
Sustainable tourism observatories have strengthened their role as a tourism intelligence tool during the Covid-19 pandemic. They were able to capture and assess short, medium and long-term changes in destinations and to support policies for a sustainable tourism future. As difficult as they are, the pandemic years represent a vacuum in which destinations have been able to rethink their development, without having to deal with their daily businesses. The Italian Autonomous Province of Bozen- Bolzano (South Tyrol) used the lockdown-seasons to strengthen a common understanding of sustainability in tourism and to set up a programme for destination labelling according to international standards. The crisis was a chance to make the necessary choices.
In its third year of activity, the Sustainable Tourism Observatory of South Tyrol (STOST) supported this repositioning process by implementing several monitoring tools. Besides the regular and timely monitoring of thirteen issue areas, sample surveys were used to rapidly assess and evaluate the recovery phase. These tools allowed to evaluate the impact of Covid-19 in economic terms, but also in terms of product and process innovation in accommodation facilities. They also highlighted changes in tourist markets, that are becoming less international and more interested in outdoor activities. Tourism is changing and the main goal of STOST is to understand its new shape, and to support smart policy decisions.