Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1324024
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 JANUARY 2021 NEWS problems experienced by consumers in 2020 as COVID-19 disrupted trade logistics. All eyes will be on international logistics and whether the disruptions in supply chains experienced in 2020 will persist in the new year. 18. Joseph Muscat The former prime minister's steps will continue being watched. What jobs he will take up, what public utterings he may make and how he will feature, if at all, in ongoing police investigations and magisterial inquiries, will remain matters of public interest. But Muscat will increasingly take a backseat role in politics as he concentrates on his personal career and writing his memoirs. 19. Luqa airport junctions After the Marsa junction project is finalised in the first months of 2021, Infrastructure Malta is expected to set the ball rolling on two key junctions just outside the airport. The removal of two roundabouts in the area will make commuting for residents of the airport villages more efficient. But serious consideration has to be given to the catacombs beneath the airport roundabout and the roads agency will have to come up with an innovative, costly solution to cut out the catacombs in a block of rock and shift them to a nearby site. 20. Destiny's Eurovision Like other major mass events the Eurovision Song Contest that was to be held in Rotterdam last year was postponed because of the pandemic. It will now be held between 18 and 22 May in the same city. Destiny Chukunyere will be Malta's singer. Her song has not been released yet but Malta's aficionados will pin their hopes on this young singer with a powerful voice. 21. Census Malta like the rest of the EU is due to hold its 10-year census in 2021. Much has changed since 2011 – divorce became a legal reality, gay couples can now get married, the population ballooned with thousands of foreigners who came to live and work here, unemployment is down and poverty indices show an improved situation. The census will give a snapshot of a radically changed country. Marie Avellino TOURISM expert and Institute for Tourism, Travel and Culture director at the University of Malta Marie Avellino said that while the pandemic has sparked a certain creativity in the industry, the return to normality would be good news for operators. "The situation has forced the industry to adopt a more creative approach, like ex- ploiting the potential of social media and digital marketing. This has led to the tar- geting of new tourism niches," she said. Small businesses especially, did not real- ize the impact of a good on- l i n e marketing campaign, ac- cording to Avellino. "This knowledge has to be carried with us as we phase out of the pandemic." She cited concerns about ad- ditional expenses brought about by restrictions aimed at preventing the fur- ther spread of the virus. "The pandemic has resulted in additional expenses for service providers, and this is one of the biggest headaches facing the in- dustry. This unfortunately is being passed on to the client, and could prove detrimen- tal," she said. As to the educational aspect of her work, Avellino said that while the institute had been equipped with an online platform, training students and lecturers alike in making good use of such tools was a chal- lenge. "I have an open-door policy at my univer- sity office. So, going from speaking open- ly and regularly with my students, to not meeting them at all has been very dif- ficult," she said. Avellino, however, said she believed new technologies must become part of the 'new' normal and used to better enhance the teaching experience in the future. e r s , m o s t of his c l i e n t s had to cut expenses as busi- ness took a hit in the first two to three months of the pandemic. Then, many started to look up and around and realise that it was still possible to do business; even under stringent measures and conditions introduced to curb the spread of COV- ID-19, all they had to do was adapt. "Those businesses that rec- ognised the urgent need to move their services and mar- keting to digital have stayed afloat and flourished," he said. "And this trend will continue in 2021 which is all set to be t h e y e a r of digi- tal transfor- mation." Borg believes this transi- tion to digital – boosted at a time when face-to-face meet- ings were taboo and brick and mortar outlets were shut down or shunned – will con- tinue in 2021, as more and more people become used to instantaneous service. "Long gone are the days when businesses can afford to respond to customers' que- ries by email within a week," he said. "People nowadays expect a business to respond within minutes, through messaging apps or social me- dia. That is the new reality and will only become more obvious in 2021." Borg said that businesses that resisted the transition to digital will find it difficult to be or remain competitive un- der such circumstances. The digital space is a fast-moving one that is constantly chang- ing. Failure to keep up with the technology and trends could be fatal to businesses. "Already today, we have moved beyond mobile first to mobile only, with more and more people shying away from desktop computers and turning exclusively to mobile phones and tablets," Borg said. "This trend will only become more acute in 2021, which will see further de- pendence on digital services and interaction."