A new dawn is almost in reach, we only need to hold on for a few more months, until we can start living our lives in hope of what the future has in store.
Yesterday we received the news that Oxford-Astrazeneca had been added to the list of safe vaccines in the UK. A significant milestone, given how accessible this vaccine will be globally, with over 3 billion doses set to be produced in 2021.
Even though the virus still continues to ravage parts of the world, we can finally see what our future is beginning to look like and just as importantly, reflect on the lessons we have learned.
For travel retail, 2020 has been a extraordinarily challenging year where people have experienced unparalleled hardship, however it has also been a year where we learned some extremely valuable lessons.
Compassion, collaboration and innovation are three key areas that I have personally drawn inspiration from.
The Dali Lama speaks about compassion as a blend of empathy and reason, that you can identify with peoples struggles, but more importantly that you can act and do something about it. In our industry, since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been some amazing examples of people selflessly stepping up. These people have gone out of their way to help others during exceptionally difficult times. I hope their legacy and humanity sets the path for us all to follow in 2021.
Collaboration, the meeting of minds to find mutually beneficial solutions is another avenue we have embraced in 2020. One element that this year has taught us is that there are forces completely beyond our control. We need to learn to lean on each other for support and to generate better outcomes. TFWA as an example have recently looked to shine a light on inclusivity for all stakeholders, fostering a vision of collaboration in order to prosper and grow.
Innovation is the final take away that has helped us set the path to recovery. In 2020 travel retail began to pivot, through virtual conferences, digital technology as well as enhancing the customers overall shopping experience. We have added value to our channel instead of repeating tired and tested methods. Our industry has always been very dynamic and adapted to external factors however it is the first time such an experience has guided us to changing key fundamentals.
Summing up, what will we take from this experience and what do we need to consider on this New Years Eve of 2020? How will we better ourselves as well as the industry we serve? The New Year brings hope and a silver lining but we need to remember how quickly things can change and how important it is that we learn from our experiences.
