Impacted The Holiday IndustryThe ongoing coronavirus pandemic has devastated the travel and holiday industry since March 2020. Put very simply. the sector is in real problems.
As soon as restrictions are eased or relaxed completely, there is going to be a surge of bookings to anywhere in the world, causing another problem,
The holiday industry is worth in the trillions globally, covering airlines, hotels, travel agents, sightseeing tours the list goes on.
As the coronavirus continues to evolve and mutate, new strains are appearing each week (South African variant, Indian variant, Kent variant, Nepal variant) each apparently worse than the last.
For this reason, foreign holidays seem to be a dream of simpler times.
ONS statistics show the devastation the virus has caused the sector, with no end in sight.
Over the last few years, we have seen a decline in high street travel agents. The days of going into a travel agent, discussing holiday packages has been swallowed by the internet and holiday websites like Lastminute.com.
The impact of coronavirus certainly will cause a further decline in the traditional travel agent re-shaping the sector as a whole.
As we drift into the great British summer, holiday companies in the UK have adapted to the staycation. This will do wonders for the British holiday sector, and for other countries globally. However for foreign travel, the nightmare is not over.
Popular holiday companies like Centre Parks are in big demand, adapting to make the most of the surge in UK holiday goers.
Small fish and chip shops on the coast also see a huge rise in business. The ‘eat out to help out’ scheme was popular for lots of small and large food companies.
Food delivery firms started up from the lockdown period, companies like Just Eat & Deliveroo saw the COVID pandemic as a launchpad. Now in 2024 people are still using food delivery companies morning noon and night.
Whether it is a trip to Disneyland, or a holiday in Cyprus, foreign holidays this year seem highly unlikely as the virus continues to mutate.
Both large and small holiday companies are in danger. In 2020 we saw Thomas Cook close in January, before the pandemic started. Now in 2021, the remaining larger companies are in danger of going the same way.
Since the ban on non essential foreign travel in 2020, the future seems very uncertain.
Update in 2024 shows that all holiday companies are in full swing. COVID is still with us and people are still taking time off work, but deaths are few and far between, even for the unvaccinated, strange.
Marketing for holiday companies is a big part of survival in this hugely competitive industry, however marketing cannot do anything until foreign travel returns.
Even price comparison websites like Booking.com have suffered, if no-one is able to go on holiday, there is no need to get quotes.
Social media marketing for holiday companies is popular and is low cost. TikTok is a popular social media website for holiday companies where cabin crew staff can do silly dances. In fact many people have calved our a career being a social media influencer since the COVID lockdowns.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic first started in March 2020, the government furlough scheme has safeguarded tens of thousands of jobs in the holiday sector.
However there are changes being made to the furlough scheme as the pandemic rolls on. The future of taxpayer debt for the pandemic is going to take decades to pay off, possibly worse than the debts of historic world wars.
The reality is that we will have to live alongside coronavirus in the same way that we live alongside the flu.
The future of travel and the coronavirus are uncertain, since social distancing on aeroplanes is difficult. Air on planes is recycled, meaning that if one person on the plane is infected, all will become infected.
The future of holidays is uncertain, and for the millions of people around the world that rely on foreign visitors, adapting or changing sector is now wise.
We are not in 2024 and the holiday sector is back in full swing, thriving as if nothing happened during 2020.
The COVID pandemic gave the holiday industry a holiday for 12 months, but now it is work as usual.
The lockdowns gave a chance for lots of bespoke holiday companies to start up. Individuals going it alone, starting their own holiday companies to offer tailored packages. Holidays to specific destinations, adventure holidays, safari holidays etc.
The large holiday companies and airlines that rely on the holiday industry were predicted to go bust with the lack of income for 12 months, but the truth is far from this. Companies like Tui and British Airways are thriving and stock prices are high.
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