Post-pandemic Aftermath

The Corona Pandemic in 2020 and 2021 led to massive restrictions on the show caves and show mines described on showcaves.com . There were restrictions on group size, social distancing regulations that had to be observed and lockdowns. Many operators, especially the non-profit ones, were overwhelmed with the complex and frequently changing restrictions and closed down altogether. In 2023, when more or less all restrictions are lifted, one would expect that the various providers would also return to their old regulations and opening hours. However, this is not the case, several mechanisms can be identified which have both advantages and disadvantages for visitors. As we have noticed when updating opening hours that we observe the same mechanisms again and again, we have tried to explain them here in summary form.

Measures

• Social distancing: An important means of reducing contagion was a distance of 1.5 m. However, this resulted in further restrictions such as the reduction of group size.
• Masks: The mask requirement was probably not comfortable for everyone. Especially if the visit involved physical exertion, it probably deterred some from visiting.
• Requirements to collect personal data: In restaurants, but also in other businesses, the collection of personal data of visitors was required. The reason given was to notify potentially infected persons in case of infection.
• Lockdown: For certain periods of time, especially during the winter, all establishments that were not urgently needed were closed. Some countries or regions also implemented a general restriction on foreign tourists.

Implementation

• Temporary closure: Many places were overwhelmed by the restrictions and therefore closed down completely. Most have since reopened with almost unchanged regulations.
• Permanent closure: Many establishments are businesses that rely on revenue and have been forced into bankruptcy by the loss or massive drop in revenue. Financial aid and the dismissal of employees have their own disadvantages. For many businesses it is difficult to find employees again, as the dismissed workers have found other work in the meantime. Thus, a certain proportion of places have been overwhelmed by financial or staffing problems and have therefore closed down for good.
• Modernisations: Some facilities took advantage of the time, closed down and carried out pending or newly planned modernisations and expansions. Since only low visitor numbers were expected, closing became "cheaper", so to speak, for the operator.
• Booking systems: The most important and drastic problem was to ensure spacing by reducing the size of the groups and recording personal details. A relatively simple solution was to use an online booking system where the visitor had to register and choose a specific date.

Aftermath

At first glance, the most radical aftermath seems to be closure. This has indeed happened, but to a much lesser extent than we feared. In most cases, it is not possible to determine whether the institution was causally closed because of the pandemic. We deal with all closures in the same way: the page is maintained but no longer updated, the locations are listed crossed out.

In fact, another after-effect has now emerged as a massive factor, the use of online booking systems. We basically consider this to be a disadvantage in total, although of course it has advantages and disadvantages. The basic limitation is, unfortunately, that you can no longer follow a sign on a trip, buy a ticket and go on a guided tour. That has been quite normal for many people. In the future, it will happen more and more often that you arrive and are asked for a reservation at the ticket office. And if you don't have one, you've probably made the trip for nothing. The psychological effects are considerable, people change their behaviour. This in turn also has an impact on institutions that do not use an online booking system.

• Spontaneity: A booking system requires planning, you have to decide beforehand where you are going and when, spontaneous visits become impossible.
• Technology: You need a computer and internet connection. For older people, this is still an issue.
• Privacy: People give out personal data, even though this is no longer necessary. Even if you don't have to create an account, for payment you have to disclose the payment system account and thus the visit can be connected to you.
• Opening hours: Booking systems allow the flexible setting of free appointments. This means that visit appointments can practically be defined individually. It is no longer possible to determine whether a facility is open by simply checking a rule for opening hours. This is now only possible for a specific date. For us, this means that we can no longer specify opening hours, we can only refer to the booking system.
• Prices: It will be possible to set different prices for different dates, for example higher prices on busy days. For the operator, the idea is to get people to come on badly attended days to save money. For the visitor it is too complicated and also its not For us this means that we can no longer quote prices, we can only refer people to the booking system.
• Advantages: For operators, the system often has massive advantages. You avoid mass crowds, you can save on staff and operating costs in case of insufficient registrations, you are more flexible. Indirectly, of course, this has a positive effect.
• Price increases: The costs of the pandemic due to loss of visitors, staffing problems and the use of new technologies such as booking systems has dramatically increased costs for many operators. This has already been reflected in significantly higher prices. In addition to the currently generally very high inflation, this will have a negative impact on prices in general.

Summary

In our opinion, the massive introduction of reservation systems is the main after-effect of the pandemic. While this may well have various advantages, we think that overall it will bring about massive changes in the entire tourism sector. For us, it is actually an advantage, we don't have to maintain changed opening hours and prices anymore, we can simply refer to the booking system. For visitors, however, it is a massive restriction, both of flexibility and of the ability to plan.

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