The economic and social implications of the resulting ‘trust deficit’ make it an essential component for sustainable and inclusive growth. A lack of public trust can in turn affect public policies, potentially leading to short-termism and expedience rather than supporting strategic decision-making and reforms. As such tourism was not able to avoid the impacts of the global financial crisis, which apart from depressing overall tourism demand, has shifted tourism flows, with less long haul travel from major European source markets, and led to more holidays being taken closer to home.