This interview addresses the impact of Covid on the Asian Hospitality industry and dealing with the consequential emotional distress. I was curious and asked Saman Sarathchandra, hotel group GM in PH, his perspective and he says, This should not be the new normal .“
Impact on Hospitality business in Asia as COVID continues
- Interview with Saman Sarathchandra
What is exactly going on in your opinion?
Nobody thought that this
could spiral into a fatal pandemic and that we’d still be talking about it 15
months in. The V-Shape recovery that we
had hoped for has now transformed into infinity-dips. But the efficacy of
vaccinations seems to give some hope even though new variants are emerging.
Do you think businesses will return
soon?
It doesn't seem easy for any
business to return to a financially sustainable point so soon, but no one hopes
to walk back the 2020 journey again. In many European and Asian countries,
restrictions are now being eased; governments are still weighing up how to
strike a balance between the transmission rate and the opening of economies.
Economic growth, job growth, and wage growth might take some time to bounce
back, but there are promising signs already.
How are Western and Asian economies
are coping with the crisis? Is Tourism decoupled from the social and emotional
distress of COVID?
Western economies are going back
and forth with COVID protocols while not shutting down day-to-day life and
business processes for long periods of time. If the economy is shut, most
governments will have to compensate each citizen by providing at least 60-80%
of their monthly wage; still, no government can afford to carry its entire
economy for too long. Therefore, they keep the economy open as much as
possible, ask people to take precautionary measures, and let them travel across
borders. We have continued learning on this subject, and the success of these
actions seems promising, which is very feasibly happening.
In Asia, not only have most tourist
hotspots been under pressure from the impact of Covid-19 but there isn’t much
help devoted to helping businesses and communities offset their lost
livelihoods. The lack of social safety net in many parts of Asia has wreaked
havoc on the hospitality & tourism sector. The economic hardship is felt
everywhere, and everyone is in eye-watering pain and increasing social and
emotional distress. But again, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to
tackling this pandemic, nor have the authorities any silver bullets at their
disposal.
What are your thoughts about the
recovery and growth aspects in the coming months?
In 2021, Asia looks much different from its robust stand
in 2020, and the recovery could be behind Europe and the USA, but it will
likely reach the herd immunity at some point in 2021, if not perhaps in
2022. At least in Asia, there is no
vaccine hesitancy but a lack of opportunity for many who want it. Hopefully,
Asia's recovery will not be hampered by the lack of vaccines and the threat of
new strains.
It will take a few more months for businesses to expand
and get rid of empty rooms and office spaces. Many countries try to build on
past achievements while others strive for new concepts and develop different
ecosystems and strategies to face the consequences of the new normal.
Undoubtedly, this is an uphill battle to revive the tourism industry in
tourism-starved countries, with expected arrivals in 2021 set to be 90% below that
of 2019, but it is a good start after lockdowns and a safety-first approach!
How will hospitality & tourism
regain its position as the fastest growing industry?
The question is, when will the
Chinese be traveling again to fill the vacuum of the 32 million Chinese
tourists that traveled to SEA in 2019? Will Chinese travelers increase
traveling within regions instead of continents due to various geopolitical
factors? Could these trends fuel the next wave of Chinese tourists to dominate
Asian countries? If that happens, can Asia be adequately sustained by Asian
tourism?
Despite the uncertainty, we need to
be relevant and be prepared for all opportunities and vulnerabilities ahead.
