Welcoming a New Year

As we approach the end of 2020, a year of unprecedented challenges, the team at Australasian Leisure Management would like to wish all readers and those across the industry a happy, safe and prosperous New Year.

We are always mindful that for some sectors of the leisure industry, particularly those in visitor attractions, this is far from being a time of rest, as summer represents the busiest time of the year.

January is also one of the busiest periods of the year for the fitness sector, with people enthusiastic to commit to their New Year’s resolutions of becoming more active.

For those working at full capacity or at whatever level Coronavirus restrictions allow, we wish you a successful and prosperous holiday period.

And while other industry media have taken a break, at Australasian Leisure Management we are aware that news cycle does not cease so be sure to refer to this website as we continue to post the latest industry news.

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Challenges Ahead
Updating the editorial that I wrote in Australasian Leisure Management, issue 141, the ever changing status of COVID-19 outbreaks around the world shows complacency is not an option with potential further outbreak waves ahead.

But beyond the health of the community, what of this industry, which is a key part of the economic and social wellbeing of Australia and New Zealand, providing opportunities for people to be active, , to achieve and attain, have fun, be entertained and which contributes to the overall quality of life and wellbeing of populations?

Facilities in all parts of the industry have been impacted and while sectors are opening up with a return to full capacity operations in some cases, the end of this year and 2021 and beyond presents some massive challenges.

While populations are likely to enjoy being able to live like they used to in a surge of post opening enthusiasm, I fear that the impact of Coronavirus shutdowns will see consumers behave very differently.

With incomes set to dip, consumers will have less disposable income to spend on leisure products and services. But more than that, people have become used to living differently since the introduction of COVID-19 shutdowns.

Take the cinema distribution sector for example, which I see as the most hard hit of all parts of the leisure industry. Since lockdown, people have consumed movies and related content differently and, with studios currently reluctant to release new content, there is little to attract movie goers back to cinemas.

The ‘live’ industry of music, festivals and performance has also been hugely impacted but at least when it is operational the live entertainment experience is unique - assuming venues, promoters and support sectors are still there to deliver after many months of being mothballed.

The activity, exercise and participation sector also faces massive challenges, as despite anecdotes that more people are going to public parks, buying bikes and the like, the reality, as evidenced by   research undertaken by the Gemba consultancy shows an overall decline in participation and exercise.

And there is the potential that with having not been able to swim, go to the gym, play sport or be part of a mass participation event over several months, people, and especially young people, may have changed habits and created a new epidemic of inactivity.

As for governmental support, stimulus programs such as Australia’s JobKeeper have been a massive boost to economies but I do fear governments and government agencies fail to realise the scale of what faces businesses and operators - or do realise the problem and are finding the challenge difficult to resolve.

Beyond JobKeeper which, it must be remembered did not extend to local government or the university sector, businesses have still had to meet fixed costs such as rent, rates, insurance and the like with little or no income.

In addition, many sectors are calling for bailout packages, however, such calls appear to go largely unanswered, and even those sectors that have been successful with securing rescue funding, such as the arts - where money has either not been allocated or obtaining it is such a bureaucratic process, that businesses and organisations find it too difficult.

This has led to suggestions that government announcements of bailout funding might just be about public relations rather than real offers of help.

Linked to this, it’s also incumbent that those who receive support don’t then criticise the governments that give it. That might result in negatively impacting other states and other sectors who might think ‘if that’s the gratitude we get, why bother?’

Image: New Year's fireworks on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Courtesy of Linda Scott/Facebook.