As COVID-19 continues to spread across the world, there has been one industry that has been hit the hardest with the most immediate repercussions by the pandemic; the hospitality industry. Restaurants and bars particularly have suffered the most due to either having to completely close, or if you are in the minority that has been able to operate, you are met with the health risks of not being able to social distance or work from home. With the fear of the virus spreading through any group activities or travel; many events, conventions and sports leagues have either been cancelled or postponed. With everyone unsure on what will happen, we can only try to prepare for the potential impact.
1. Uncertainty: One thing that we know is a definite is that the impact is uncertain. No one knows how long this virus will continue to spread or how long businesses will need to stay closed. The only thing that you can do is try to prepare for the long run and figure out the best way to get out of this positively at the end.
2. Industries Impacted: With most hospitality industries being impacted, some more than others, there will be a chain reaction on how it impacts. As travel has been reduced to only the essential, there has been a massive drop in the number of tourists. An example of this statistic is from the Tourism Economic. With one of the largest tourism sources in the world, China, being also in lockdown means that the 159 million outbound tourists spending $275 billion in 2019 will dramatically decrease in 2020, with potently a $5.8 billion loss in just airfare and domestic spending, this which will evidently create an economic impression on hotels and restaurants as well.
3. Other Options: While there are some people who have been fortunate to be put on furlough and have been promised their jobs, some haven’t been so lucky. One way you can be prepared is you can make sure you are ready to apply for new roles and jobs when they open. Make sure your CV is up to date, including your current job position and ensure you have practised your interview techniques. You can also explore ways of making yourself stand out when eventually an in-demand position will become available. Additional qualifications will massively help you become a sought-after candidate. It might also be a good time to plan for a career change, maybe looking for a more permanent role in the Events or the Tourism industry, or even if you are just looking to switch it up, don’t just look for the role you were originally doing if you were enjoying it.
4. Positive Outcomes: Although this pandemic doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, we need to a positive outlook for the future of this industry. As restrictions start to lift, postponed and reorganised events or even the amount of people craving for a nice meal out will all start coming into play. Events, weddings and festival will need to start being rearranged and extra staff will be recruited to match the mass of clients that will be requesting assistance from these companies.
If you are interested in growing your CV and knowledge to be on the top of your game when restrictions start to become lifted, check out our Events Management course below!
Become a Qualified Events Planner