On Friday 18 November, eXpression hosted a well-attended lunch discussion on the theme of the sustainable hospitality industry of the future. The discussion was attended by Peter Juneblad, Director of Economic Affairs at Umeå Municipality, Annika Sandström, Regional Tourism Manager at Region Västerbotten, Gabriella Hed Vall, CEO of Visit Umeå and Cecilia Lindström, CEO and owner of Järnspisens matbod and centre developer in Piteå.
The discussion raised many interesting questions about what the corona pandemic has meant for the hospitality and trade industries. While it has been a challenging year for the industry, the pandemic has also accelerated the development of businesses as well as all business support organisations. In the light of this, it was noted that the panel is now looking forward with a strong sense of optimism, even though no one knows what lies ahead.
There is no longer anything we can call normal times," said Cecilia Lindström, echoed by the other panelists.
The discussion was moderated by Annakarin Nyberg, project manager for the project Future Sustainable Visitor Industry at eXpression Umeå.
If you missed the call, it can be seen via eXpression Umeås Facebook.
The project Sustainable tourism of the future and trade, conducted at the eXpression business incubator in Umeå, has been working for two years to disseminate and share experiences of what the pandemic has meant for both businesses and business promoters in northern Sweden. The project is part of Tillväxtverkets bet Knowledge development in the corona pandemic and will be implemented during the period 1 February 2021 - 31 December 2022.
