MARKETING AND PROMOTIONAL
ADVERTISING
MMGY Travel Intelligence, in partnerships with
Destinations International Foundation, released findings
of surveys taken by resorts in the United States early
and mid-March, which reported that 80% of destination
organizations surveyed had reduced or postponed sales
and marketing spend, and over 60% had asked employees
to work from home. Expectations are that the coronavirus
will have an extreme impact on business over the next six
months as early surveys reported 40% cancellation of
events, attractions, conferences and business meetings to
100% in mid-March. Interestingly, only 30% of resorts
had a pandemic plan in place, though MMGY attributes
this to organizations relying on state governments for
national crises.
A third round of survey results found that 95% of North
American destination professionals have chosen to reduce
or postpone paid promotional advertising, and 80% have
shifted sales, marketing or messaging and more than half
expect to return to paid promotional email campaigns,
paid search and paid social media campaigns in the next
the next 60 days. Half of respondents said that they
expect paid advertising to resume in that timeframe.
“COVID-19 has had a substantial financial impact on
the tourism industry, and destination organizations have
responded quickly by deferring marketing funds in a
responsible manner,” said Craig Compagnone, chief
operating officer, MMGY Global. “However, search data
is telling us that there is still a strong desire to travel,
and we believe this pent-up demand will result in a high
volume of shorter booking window trips when bans are
lifted and consumers believe it is safe to get out and
explore again.”
SUPPLY CHAINS
There is no doubt that supply chains will be interrupted
as effects of the virus unfold very rapidly on a daily
basis. Chip McIntyre, Senior Vice President of Strategic
Sourcing, Avendra told us that the biggest supply chain
impact continues to be in critical short-supply items,
specifically: masks, hand sanitizer and thermometers.
They are putting a great deal of effort into sourcing and
making these available for their clients.
“Eventually,” he told us, “the supply chains will adjust
to the “new normal” for these products, but we are still
several weeks away from that happening. The foodservice
(as opposed to retail) food supply chain is secure and
operating with minimal disruptions. While there are
some empty shelves at retailers, we do not anticipate
broad food or food-related (e.g., disposable packing)
shortages or widespread factory shut-downs to try to
contain the virus. However, some plants, as we have seen
recently with a few meat processing plants, will need to
temporarily close or run with skeleton staffs. As a result,
distribution of food and other materials may be delayed,
or distributors may go to fewer delivery days/week
because of either skeleton staffs or reduced demand.”
Looking to the future, we believe that the supply
chain will be even stronger in some areas than it was
before. Increased scrutiny on cleanliness and enhanced
quality assurance measures will drive improved business
practices, more transparency and accelerated product
innovation. We are working with our suppliers and clients
to provide input on these new approaches so that our
clients have what they need (masks, hand sanitizer
stations, enhanced cleaning practices, social distancing
signage, etc.) as the industry reopens.“
THE FUTURE OF WORK AND TRAVEL
Already, hotels are reimagining the future, with leaders
experimenting with everything, from business models
and distribution systems to the organization of work and
the management of a largely home-based workforce,
according to Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future. “At
the macro level, previously unthinkable ideas are
being considered and actioned, such as the notions of
guaranteed basic incomes, compulsory health testing of
an entire nation, total population lockdowns, and global
flight bans. Organizationally, for many, innovation has
become a true survival priority rather than just a budget
line item,” says Talwar.
He goes on to say that effective leaders are needing to
drive change at a far greater speed than ever before as
they maneuver major culture challenges and new virtual
realities as well as flattened management structures that
yield increased responsibility due to redundancies.
Learning is constant at every level, from negotiating how to
work productively with your children nearby to the need to
use remote working tools and expanding your technology
awareness. At the macro level, leaders and employees are
needing to prepare for a COVID-19 future and are starting
to think about the need to be better prepared for the
unexpected in the short and long-term future.
“The situation has presented organizations with a “not to
be wasted” opportunity to acquire new approaches, ways
of thinking, and skills that can help navigate the current
crisis and lay the foundations for the next future of
work,” says Talwar.
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