Travel v/s Coronavirus: Who will win in a fist fight?

Greetings, fellow reader! There was absolutely no purpose in writing this blog article. The writer was very bored. Just kidding. The main purpose behind this illustrative piece was to inform everyone the impact coronavirus had on travel; but in a unique, fun approach. It contains statistical facts and information from various journals, press articles, and other sources.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy the match between travel and coronavirus!

Bienvenue! Welcome to the annual ‘World Championship 2020’! With overall spectatorship of 7.8 billion from 195 countries, witness the largest sporting event in human history!

The stakes are as high as it gets. This boxing event decides the future, as the two heavyweights come against each other in an epic battle for the championship!

The Contestants

On one end, we have Travel Mayweather, the champion of the previous World Championship 2019, earning up to 10.4% of the total world GDP, equivalent to 8.8 Trillion US Dollars (WTTC).

Apart from that, he has given joy and livelihood to billions of people worldwide. While on the other, we have a new entrant – ‘Coronavirus Pacquiao!’. He has taken the world by storm in a matter of just a few months. He has attacked 5.5 million individuals worldwide and has affected the lifestyles of several others. Ruthless.

So for those who are not familiar with the rules, allow us to help you. The match has 12 rounds, each of them of a three-minute duration. Both of our contestants battle it out for the fight of their lives! 

Here we see our messiah travel entering the ring. Witness the utter joy and excitement of the public, as the chants of ‘Defeat Corona’ become deafening in this huge stadium. He’s there, basking in the glow of the appreciation showered to him by the audience. Backstage, he was asked whether he wanted to retain the title of World Champion this year as well.

“Yes definitely, I feel that I must win. There are millions of people who have been suffering a loss due to this outbreak of Corona. I owe it to them, to win.”

Beautiful words! But the question is, will he be able to stick to it?“Introducing the challenger to the championship, Coronavirus!”. Silence has taken over the crowd. The man of the hour approaches the ring, with his dangerous arms and a crown-like structured head. 

No wonder he has sent so many of his opponents to the hospital. 

Who will win?

While Travel is a renowned champion, Coronavirus is also not an easy foe.
He has defeated a string of strong opponents to reach the finale. Economy, Healthcare, almost every industry you can think of. These are some of the worthy boxers that this new entrant has defeated. Definitely, it will not be easy for Travel to win. Corona enters the ring and goes to his corner. The referee invites both of the fighters.

He asks them to take their stances. There is a pin drop silence, people waiting for the fight. A lot of lives depend upon the outcome of this fight. 

‘3,2,1…fight!’  And it starts!

Round 1-4

Travel dominates the round single-handedly

Both the boxers approach each other, playing it very defensively at first. Both of them are being cautious as to hit the other. Corona tries to attack with a punch, but that was well anticipated. Travel blocks it and lands a sharp shot in the chest of Corona. 

Cheers can be heard from all sides. Using his experience, travel strategically places its punches on the body. It looks like the match would end pretty soon. Surprising to notice, Corona has been absorbing the shocks all the time. As the bell rings, both the players retreat to their corners. End of Round 1. Travel has been the clear winner in this round.

Corona’s Reply

Round 2 starts, Travel decides to play more offense than defense, as he steps forward to hit a left jab. Corona anticipates this, ducks, and stuns the champion with a huge uppercut! The audience lets out a huge gasp. Corona goes all out. Aggressively coming forward to hit travel in the face, chest, and abdomen. No reply from Travel. 

In Round 3 and 4, rapid duplicating of the opposition has placed Travel in a tough spot. Blow after blow after blow has cost travel a global loss of 75 million jobs and $2.1 trillion revenue (As per The World Travel and Tourism Council). 

A right uppercut dished by Coronavirus has resulted in a loss of 4.6 million jobs in America.  Wow, this attack has been 7 times more fatal than that of 9/11! (Roger Doe, President, US Travel Association)   

Truly, Travel looks to be in a very dire situation. 

This has had a huge impact, causing 15.8 million lay-offs in America. That’s one in every ten Americans (TraveliT). Oh, there goes the bell. Hopefully, by round 5, we will be able to see him coming back from this.

Round 5-7

No Stopping Corona’s Wrath

Travel seems to be shaken after the horrific three rounds. We can see the coach actively trying to motivate the champ. And with a huge fist pump, off goes travel towards the main stage. Ding goes the bell. Again, it is disappointing to see Travel getting hit so hard by the monstrous Coronavirus. 

There go 250 billion dollars down the drain, as the International aviation sector is badly hit. We don’t know how much cash they have in hand to cover expenses. Lesser than two months, according to The International Air Transport Association. 

Oof! A writhing blow to the hotel industries! The Indian counterpart has recorded a loss of 6.2 million rupees. The hotel chains and standalone hotel segments are losing over 13-15 million rupees, whereas the alternate accommodation segment has suffered a loss of over 42-47 million rupees. Continuous lay-offs further add to the dismay. 

The industry has fallen. That’s a major loss! Travel is not performing as well as it used to do. In fact, it has been down by 78% of what was expected in April and May 2020.

Travel is put out of his misery by the bell; the referee announces a break of a minute. 

Recuperating Times for Travel

Tough times; Travel and his team should go back to their drawing board and figure out newer strategies, because, at this pace, he’s going to be kicked out of existence pretty soon.

Okay, let’s discuss. What does Travel Mayweather have to combat Coronavirus? There’s the Government, the regulatory bodies, and the frontline workers. These include medical personnel, doctors, nurses, delivery men, policemen, and civil administration!

It’s time for him to use them to his advantage.

Round 8-11

Travel’s back in the game

“Boxers, arrive!”, shouts the referee as he gears up to referee the eighth round of this rather one-sided match. For the new spectators joining us, we’re watching “Travel versus Coronavirus”

In the World Championship 2020.

Travel and coronavirus take their stance. As soon as the bell goes off, the round starts. Travel seems to be a little nervous, hesitating to come forward and attack. Coronavirus seems to just wait for an opportunity. 

There goes Corona! A sharp right hook towards travel. But to everybody’s surprise, travel has blocked it effectively. This is a new move that we have seen, under the name of ‘social distancing’. This move is protecting him, and also exhausting Coronavirus. He keeps on blocking the incoming punches. As corona is getting more tired, travel is looking for an opportunity to attack. There goes the right jab. Everyone is stunned! There’s a punch that landed on the monster after so long! He is taken aback! 

Various factors coming to Travel’s aid

With the help of the frontline warriors, Travel has started to become a little more offensive. With every hit, he is starting to get more confident and is recovering. Several domestic bubbles have been opening up! Countries like China, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam have opened their restaurants, tourist spots, transportation, and hotels domestically. Greece has started to allow individuals to travel to their domestic islands. Flights between Australia and New Zealand have also been initiated to start by July!

Domestic flights in India resumed on 25 May by carriers including Air India, AirAsia India, Vistara, SpiceJet, and more. In Malaysia, AirAsia has restarted domestic flights to a few destinations as well.

Corona feels the heat

Corona has started to feel the intensity of these punches. Searches from the UK to France for travel in July increased 128% this week compared to last week, while searches from the UK to Italy increased 103% over the same period. Other forms of travel are also being considered, with searches for car hire up in Germany (40%), Netherlands (30%) and the UK (30%).In the Asia Pacific, Australian travelers are also searching closer to home, with destinations such as Broome (158%), Cairns (149%), and Darwin (117%) increasing significantly (Skydata).

These so-called regional bubbles for travel, have started to defeat Coronavirus. Little by little. 

The government has come to the aid of travel, with the formulation of fiscal policies like the CARES act in the USA. This act allows traveling some extra firepower to defeat coronavirus. It is providing them with capital from the government’s side, to survive the harshest hits of Coronavirus. Hence, with the support of the government, coronavirus is not being able to hurt travel extensively!

The audience can see the domination of corona decreasing in this match. Travel is playing wonderfully, delivering punches after punches, while also protecting itself from the viral attacks.

Off goes the bell.

Round 12

The Make it-or-Break it Round

One round left in between defeat and victory. Travel needs to land most of his punches correctly and effectively so that he has a shot of winning. The momentum is with him definitely. What a comeback we witnessed in the earlier rounds. It seems that he is re-motivated to do well in this fight! 

The last round commences. Travel has nothing to hold back as he drives himself towards his opponent. Punch after punch after punch. Oh my god, he is unstoppable. This is the ultimate round in this Travel versus Coronavirus match.

Coronavirus’ Fall

With the help of efficient packages like the CARES act, he stuns Corona’s head.

Corona seems to be tired and slowing down. He is not being as active as he was, during the earlier rounds of the match. 

Oh my god, Corona has been knocked down! The crowd just cannot believe it! The spectators go absolutely crazy, witnessing this. What a match, what a moment for the champion! His performance has been sensational throughout the whole match. Fought like a champion. 

Corona refusing to give up

But to the audience’s dismay, Corona stands up, once more. The referee asks if he still wants to continue. He nods. The match starts again. It seems that the rate of coronavirus affecting humans is decreasing, along with the increased rate in tests against it by Mayweather. 

The health of the travel industry is recovering slowly. At this moment, China thinks that they will be able to recover 70% of their tourism revenue by early September. The economic plans introduced by the governments definitely show some promise now. It seems that the worst is over. The audiences’ cries become louder and louder, as Travel is edging towards victory. 

“DING!”

That declares the end of the match.

Final Decision

Boxing match between travel and coronavirus

Everyone in this stadium, now have their minds occupied by only one question. “Who won?”

Intense discussions are happening on the judges’ bench. The audience has become absolutely silent. Both of the boxers are thinking if they have done enough to win. 

Will Travel be able to continue his legacy? Or does the challenger win, posing a darker cloud over all of us for an unknown amount of time. The outcome, as we said at the beginning of the match, can forever change our lives. 

Back to Reality

Thankfully, the fight is still going on. It has not ended. The frontline warriors- doctors, policemen, medical staff, delivery personnel, amongst countless others, are yet on the battlefield against this invisible enemy. So brave of them to step up, when the world needed them the most.

Let’s put in all our efforts to aid them so that we never have to second guess the winner of this ‘World Championship 2020’. It has to be us. Goodbye from our side. Stay safe, stay healthy, and Godspeed folks.

 

Scroll to Top