On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. A public health emergency of international concern, which caused a devastating impact on the travel industry as governments responded with lockdowns, quarantines, travel restrictions and border closures to contain the virus.
The cumulative impact had huge implications on the operational and financial resilience of many youth travel organisations, but particularly within the cultural exchange sector as participants tend to scatter around the world and many stakeholders are involved in the programmes. Parents, host families, agents and sponsors: all needed appropriate assistance.
Hearing all these stories and looking back on the huge efforts that these organisations have made in response to this crisis, the Cultural Exchange Panel concluded that there was still a lot to learn about crisis management and that sharing best practices would help fellow organisations improve their crisis preparedness and strengthen collaboration within the sector.