What is your take on the coronavirus and its impact on our industry?
21 experts shared their view
Hospitality Net introduced a live timeline with relevant and industry-specific coronavirus news, resources and external updates. We asked our contributors to share their professional opinion with you.
COVID-19 is hitting the beating heart of every hotel hard
In “The Day After”, Hospitality is the Future
This pandemic will cost many lives and even more jobs, no doubt. Employees in numbers I would not dare to estimate will see their livelihood options diminish – especially those in countries, which do not have reliable financial safety nets. The fight against COVID-19 will stop many sustainable development efforts, because available budgets will be needed otherwise.
However, every crisis is also an opportunity: to measure exactly how drastic degrowth impacts climate change; to understand how far we can adapt socially to a less consumeristic lifestyle; to make us aware of what we actually need to feel at ease, connect with people and have a sense of escape from routine, without being able to travel to faraway places. All of these insights might eventually shape a different and more sustainable tourism and hospitality industry. This greatly depends, however, on how we will approach the rebuilding of our industry – not least of all in terms of financial aid allocation. Sustainability must be at the heart this effort.
Otherwise, we are in for the bigger crises, the one we are unlikely to recover from any time soon as well as the crisis, which will cost significantly more lives: climate change. More than COVID-19 I fear a 'back to business as usual' after the crisis has passed.