The catastrophic bomb of Corona Virus hit us hard in the year 2020 sending shockwaves across countries. As the world went on a sudden hiatus, offices, schools and markets were shut down, leaving millions of people jobless and economies struggling to recover. COVID-19 left markets across the globe staggering; emerging unscathed and successful was a herculean task for most industries.
The hardest-hit sector was without doubt the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Sector with 100 million job losses by the end of 2020 and an estimated loss of over $2.7 trillion. With cancellations shooting up, the hospitality industry was on the edge of drowning with no rescue. Getting up from such blows is painfully slow and difficult. As a part of the Dutch Uncles Series, Rise Again, we conducted Panel Discussions on the survival and revival of the ‘Travel and Hospitality Industry Amid the Pandemic’ and ‘Beauty and Wellness Industry Amid the Pandemic’.
Our panelists included renowned industry veterans and experts who debated, discussed, strategized and brainstormed the revival and survival of these industries in the Post-COVID market and how they could ease their way into the ‘new normal’. Even with a GDP slowdown, these industries can establish a firm foot and tap into the market with new, cost-effective strategies. To learn more, watch the Panel discussion on Dutch Uncles – Rise Again Episode 1: Travel and Hospitality and Episode 2: Beauty and Wellness.
Learning, even in the Pandemic, has no limits, and it is no longer contained to classrooms. Though the sector dipped with the global shutdown of schools and institutions, new, digital pedagogical platforms have helped them survive. The pandemic expanded the market base of many E-learning and Ed-tech platforms with millions of people enrolling for online courses, promoting digital teaching and learning via various Apps. In 2020, BYJUs was the highest valued Ed-tech company in the world with a valuation as high as $ 11.1 billion. They claimed that they earned Rupees 2800 crore in FY20. BYJU’s app downloads have soared by 600% between the years 2017 and 2020 with a renewal rate of 86%. The pandemic shed light on the drawbacks in the current educational status quo with special emphasis on the need for newer, digitalised pedagogies like AI and virtual reality and reducing the impact of geo-economical restrictions.
Our upcoming panel discussion, Rise Again – Education and Training deals with issues in the COVID-hit education sector, bringing new strategies for encouraging the holistic development of students during tough times like these.
The food & beverage industry includes various online and offline food chains, restaurants, beverage producers, raw material producers, packaging and distributing companies, etc. With restaurants and cafes closed across the world, this sector was one amongst the worst hit. With no funds to sustain, the sudden imposition of the lockdown left them floundering. With fluctuating demands and supplies, the industry faced a tough time stabilizing itself amidst the pandemic.
Online deliveries along with safety measures helped ease the blow and a rise in demand for packaged food speeded up their recovery. However, they still have a long way to go in terms of safety, seating, and attracting people in the post-COVID scenario. A similar trend was observed in the Retail market. With shops and malls closed for months, many businesses switched to online platforms to increase sales.
At Dutch Uncles, we have gripping discussions lined up in May 2021, with our series Rise Again where our expert panelists dive deep into the issues in the Food and Beverage, Retail and Education and Training and come with ingenious solutions of resurging in the post-pandemic market. Stay updated and stay tuned to learn more about how industries can rise again, for as Confucius said, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
