The travel industry in the wake of COVID-19: which companies will realize the greatest opportunities?
The travel, hospitality, and tourism industries have been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. How can technology help rebuild these industries? Experts weigh in
Granted, these may be the hardest hit industries in terms of the economic impact of the pandemic, but they are certainly not alone. From manufacturing to retail, the pandemic has spurred the widespread disruption of traditional industries, speeding up digitization, remote work adoption, and the willingness to implement innovative technologies.
In a recent panel discussion hosted by Start-Up Nation Central during the recent New Digital Age conference, OurCrowd partner Laly David spoke with Thomas Reichert, Chairman of Global Practices and the Global Digital Leader at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and Ash Jokhoo, Chief Information and Data Officer at Virgin Atlantic, to get a better idea of what kinds of disruptions we are likely to see in traditional industries and when these industries are likely to bounce back.
Panel participants also shed light on how the business environment is likely to change and adapt by not only implementing breakthrough safety and security standards, but also by engaging in more partnerships and ventures to adopt and realize startup companies’ solutions.
“14% of companies will actually come out stronger”
One of the biggest concerns following the global pandemic is that companies may be too slow to recover, creating an economic downturn fueled by fewer jobs and a more concentrated market (in certain industries). However, as Reichert pointed out, “we know that in crisis situations like this one, about 14% of companies actually come out stronger; stronger in terms of their growth, stronger profitability, and the question is really, how do companies make decisions to get to that point?”
Currently, many companies are looking for innovative technological solutions that will help them not only emerge from the crisis, but reinvent themselves in order to anticipate the market when the immediate effects of the crisis subside, which panel participants agreed is likely to take 2-5 years.
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