Whether it’s been natural or forced, COVID-19 has changed consumer behaviour. With restrictions and lockdowns impacting what we can and can’t do, consumers have had to change their purchasing behaviour to adapt to these changes. Some industries have been hit hard, while others have experienced growth. Those that have been hit the hardest tend to be the industries that were forced to close or stop activity in order to limit the spread of the virus. While the industries that flourished where the ones that had pre-existing services that increased in demand due to the lockdowns. Let’s go through a few of the industries most impacted.
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Tourism Industry
The tourism industry has probably been impacted the most out of any global industry. The tourism industry relies on travellers and until COVID-19 has been controlled on a global scale will we see travelling return to normal. Every country has it’s own tourism industry and some economies rely on it more than others. There is a direct correlation between the countries were tourism makes up a greater percentage of GDP and the countries that have seen the biggest economic downturn. Some countries are handling this issue better than others, Sailing Whitsundays – Wings states that the Australian Governments “Holiday Here This Year” campaign is a great initiative that’s helping local tourism while supplying the consumer demand for travel. While we can’t travel overseas, our money can be spent supporting the local economy while showcasing our countries own attractions.
Aviation Industry
More specifically the passenger air travel industry has been hit hard by global and local COVID-19 travel restrictions. Closely related to the tourism industry the aviation industry relies on international or interstate travel to survive. Although unlike tourism there was little the industry could do to continue operation, besides the odd flight to return travellers to there home country. even interstate travel was stopped at the height of restrictions in most countries so airlines couldn’t operate in the local market either.
Hospitality Industry
On a local scale, the hospitality industry was hit hard by restrictions. While not as reliant on travellers, travel restrictions still hurt the travel industry. However, where most of the economic loss occurred was in the small restaurants and cafes that were forced to close during the height of the lockdowns. During this time there was essentially nothing the industry could do to operate, only once restrictions eased could they start to operate deliveries. Even then the staff loss was major as no waiters or waitresses were working. Many businesses need to apated to “takeaway only” rules and as most small businesses didn’t have the infrastructure to do so they relied on the big delivery businesses to help. This may sound like a lifeline, but the fees charged by these businesses cut even further into margins.
