The world has never in modern history seen a global situation of the magnitude that we see today. We have been through SARS, MERS, 9/11, the Gulf Wars, volcano eruptions and more. But that was in regional pockets: never before have we seen something so expansive.
We appreciate the many concerns raised by the spread of the virus as it impacts global travel and all those involved in it. There is no doubt that stress levels in our industry are at an all-time high. Trade shows are being cancelled, arguments are erupting over cancellation fees, and discussions on force majeure and so much more are opening up. These are unchartered waters.
Our hearts and wishes go out to our friends and colleagues in all the countries affected. We stand by you.
All our sister associations and industry trade bodies are aggregating useful news and stories about the virus which is keeping us all informed. There are understandably knee-jerk reactions in our client bases, the impact of which many of us are seeing directly with cancellations filtering through.
But we also understand that this situation is temporary! So, let us focus on who we really are, and what we can do, for us and our clients.
Our industry is made up of varying nationalities and beliefs; varying ages and experiences; varying passions and ambitions. Each one of us has a unique voice, a unique style, a unique personality and that I believe is what makes us truly special and is what binds us. It is our differences that when brought together makes us stronger.
It is time to stand strong, stand together and work on strategies to keep our industry viable and to keep the world travelling. We need to get the message out that most of the world is still very safe and open to travellers, and that plans can and should go ahead – if not right now, then maybe only postponed by a few months. At Euromic, we are already encouraging the philosophy in our clients, and their clients of “Don’t Cancel: Postpone”
We in Euromic will stand by our customers, we will stand by our employees, we will stand by our colleagues and work as one to come up with solutions for the resurgence of our industry.
We look at the future and the next steps that will steady us all as the world deals with the situation.
I, on behalf of our members, wish everyone in our industry the strength and perseverance in this challenging time. This will not last and we will soon be back planning recovery and resurgence. Life is, at times, tough. All we need to do is to prove that we are tougher than it.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
