Yeah: what the hell... This is what a lot of us say (or at least think) when we wonder about the consequences of the biggest current issue in Spain these days... And what we have left...
The world of corporate group travel, also known as the "CCI / MICE" business, is undoubtedly suffering from the Coronavirus. And this affects many guilds :
- Local transportation,
- Restoration / A&B,
- Accommodation,
- team building activities
- Cultural excursions and entrance to monuments
- printing press,
- entertainment,
- Cruise ships,
- Airlines,
- Specialized staffing,
- etc
It all started with the cancellation of the World Mobile Congress last February and that opened a Pandora's box for the rest of the events to follow, creating a "house of cards" that nobody knows how long it will last. And this uncertainty is what is starting to generate panic among the professionals of the guild.
The cancellation of the world's largest travel fair in early March, the ITB in Berlin, has proved to be the ultimate decision to bring down the curtain on the corporate travel industry for a good time...
So what's next... With extreme measures implemented by most European governments, the situation does not look promising. Airlines are cancelling more and more flights every day, hotels are reporting huge hourly losses, Italy is almost isolated from the rest of Europe, tour operators are starting to completely restructure their seasonal forecasts...
So what the hell... Well, let's take this seriously, we have no other choice... the "T" part of the SWOT analysis is here, it's fallen on us without warning and now is the time to act accordingly. Every company will have to stop for a minute, analyze the problem and make strategic decisions in order to survive this tough crisis. We all wish we had a crystal ball in our hands to reflect the present one year from now, to know how to act and what to expect, so we can make the right decisions now.
In the meantime, let us take concrete action in our internal and external processes, and let us assume that this is real and serious, both the virus and the enormous fear that accompanies it... and such FEAR is perhaps what we should fear.