The Traveler Experience in Monaco: Challenges, Recommendations, and Attractions

This presentation discusses the state of tourism in Monaco, challenges due to the pandemic, and recommendations to boost travel. It also highlights the history and culture, food and cuisine, environmental and natural beauty, and different types of tourists in Monaco.

This presentation will highlight the state of tourism and
travelling experience of visitors, challenges in tourism due to
the ongoing pandemic and recommendations for overcoming
them and boosting travel for Monaco. It is one of the most
wealthiest places in the world and a popular yet underrated
tourism destination as it is a sovereign city state located on the
French Riviera,a few kilometres west of Liguria in Western
Europe on the Mediterranean sea.

History and Culture – Due to being a harbour city and getting governed by different cultures over time,
Monaco is host to a diverse mix of local and foreign culture and it has numerous destinations with a lot
of history and rich lore behind it. The world famous Oceanographic museum is one of the biggest tourist
hotspots of Monaco as it is housed in a palatial estate overlooking the seas and it houses more than
6000 underwater specimens (Bittman and Pixley, 2020). There are also many cathedrals to visit such as
the Roman-Byzantine Cathedrale De Monaco which is very rich in local history.
Food and cuisine – Monaco is full of resorts and luxurious hotels on it's small strip of land making it one
of the most exotic areas of the world and this holds true when it comes to quality and diversity of food.
The country is filled with various eating establishments ranging from Michelin star restaurants to street
side bistros serving a wide range of local and European cuisine and mass sized open markets selling most
things under the sun.
Environmental and natural beauty – Monaco has been gifted when it comes to climate and natural
sights as the weather is rarely freezing cold and there is a gentle summer and occasional rain all year
long (Fitzgerald, 2017). 20% of the country is covered in grass and is planning towards gaining carbon
neutrality by 2050 and it has very spacious and world famous gardens hosting a wide variety of rare and
exotic flowers and vegetations making visiting Monaco a nature lover's dream.

Adventure tourists – These travellers are looking for thrilling life experiences and adrenaline rushes as
they move to different locations to participate in enthralling activities and sports and focus on meeting
new people and gaining new memories of doing something that moves their soul (Colum and Collins,
2021).
Backpack tourists – These people differ from other tourists as all they carry with themselves is a
backpack with all the essentials packed inside as these tourists are mostly frugal and operating on a tight
budget. Adventure tourists are different from backpack tourists as the latter can also make time to
travel for cultural and food reasons.
Business tourists – These travellers mostly travel to take care of their personal work and suffer from
tight schedules which usually prevents them from exploring the location properly despite having the
budget to do so.

Cultural Tourists – Monaco is a hub of different world cultures bleeding into each other and is a great
place to observe different types of architectural and social influences of Western Europe. Many people
travel there to get immersed in the rich history of Monaco's churches and cathedrals and for the
underwater museum which is a world famous experience recommended by many.
Holiday Tourists – Monaco is also a hotly demanded holiday location worldwide for a myriad of reasons
including the small size and luxurious economy which gives it the look of paradise on earth, the natural
beauty and warm climate of the country and the sheer variety of tasty local and French foods. All these
reasons together make people salivate to holiday there at least once in their lives.
Eco-Tourists – Monaco is a naturally gifted country as predominately 20% of the landmass is covered in
lush green grass and there is abundance of natural parks, gardens and reservations for tourists to travel
for. These types of visitors pay attention to sustainable ways of travel and try to do as less harm to the
environment while travelling as they can and Monaco provides e-bikes for exploration which has been
attracting Eco-Tourists to the country for a while.

The ongoing pandemic has not been kind to any person and that same equation can be applied to the
business landscape as well as most industries including tourism got their knees bent and suffered from
various issues. Consequences such as decrease in profitability and lack of sales along with slow recovery
of the economy has also resulted in companies shutting down on a global scale (Fehér, 2021). The
tourism industry is one of the most important sectors of the global economy when it comes to
ecological, economic and social significance as it constitutes a major part of a country's overall GDP and
foreign exchange reserves.
On a global scale, the pandemic has affected tourism industry of Monaco and other smaller
countries like it a variety of ways listed below.
Decrease in profitability as travel to small countries like Monaco where there is a lack of proper testing
provisions and facilities was strictly banned during the initial years of the pandemic and the country is
still recovering from it.
Degradation of the overall experience of the traveller as to keep the infection in control, Monaco's
government had to put up strict provisions like mask wearing compulsion and proper distancing
measures which is not appreciated by tourists.
Slowdown of new customers and economic slump is also a major way in which Monaco's been
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as the country got most of it's major businesses shut down for an
extended period of time and the tourism sector which contributes a major part of it's yearly revenue got
halted (Duffy, 2019). Even though things are slowly getting back to normal, people are still hesitant to
travel which is why despite promotions, Monaco has not been able to provide a good traveller
experience to entice them to come and visit.

Monaco has been going through a tourism slump lately and the recommendations by which it can
provide a better product to tourists and improve their overall experience is given herein.
Provide better transport facilities to travel and explore the locations of Monaco as currently the E-
Bikes that are being offered are only catering to eco-tourists which are a niche category and they are not
comfortable for most guests.
Hold events on a grand scale and make them worth attending as Monaco despite it's scenic locations
does not host any super important or cool events that can catch attention of the general public, live
events and sporting championships are some examples which drive tourism majorly each year
Monaco should also make itself a more affordable destination for people as the country is quite
expensive to revel in. The luxurious establishments should lower their prices to build goodwill in the
backdrop of the pandemic and the tourism industry should make dedicated social media channels for
promotion of Monaco's natural beauty which can attract a lot of views.

Duffy, A., 2019. If I say you’re authentic, then you’re authentic: Power and privilege revealed in travel
blogs. Tourist studies, 19(4), pp.569-584.
Fehér, A., 2021. The Hungry Traveller. 18th-Century Transylvanian Travellers and the Western Culinary
Experience. Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai-Historia, 66(1), pp.79-96.
Fitzgerald, A., 2017. Tourist, tour guide, traveller, travel agent? Reflections on leading and learning from
international professional experiences. In Narratives of learning through international professional
experience(pp. 15-27). Springer, Singapore.