The travel industry is witnessing a new low, with the major reason being extremely low fares in the country, approximately 50% of the global average maintenance cost. It is widely expected that the government will lower the tax on ATF or at least introduce GST into it, and also bring down the airport fees as something that will revive the fortunes of the sector.

The logistics industry had performed well, particularly air cargo. However, the pandemic has affected the cargo movement too. The government is likely to remove bottlenecks such as the tax on fuels which is also expected in the case of aviation. But perhaps the best lesson that the pandemic has had for businesses, big or small, is the adoption of digital technology and how they can use it to scale up the existing capacity.

Businesses that are short of resources and revenues must know to how to give the best response to unpredictable market conditions. Economy of operational costs and optimizing efficiency is the key to running enterprises, and only technology can make it happen.

The crisis has also transformed the way work is done. ‘Work from home’ or ‘WFH’ is the ‘new normal’ offering the freedom to hire bright talents from anywhere globally. This also means reduced headcount whilst offering a better work-life balance. It is a helpful step towards facilitating greater participation of the fairer sex as well as the social inclusion of the differentiately abled.

Kerala, for instance, one of the most important tourist destinations in India, is also a growing IT powerhouse that can drive global business transformation and business process management in the travel and hospitality sector. The state is also looking to upgrade its higher education capacity by encouraging teachers to upskill their knowledge and universities to foster digital transformation in the administration area.