After coming through a particularly devastating summer season of bushfires, storms and floods, I’m sure news of the coronavirus outbreak earlier this year was not something hoteliers wanted to hear.
Unfortunately, coronavirus has already had a significant impact on Australia’s tourism industry. The effect of the quarantine measures meant that China, one of Australia’s largest inbound markets, was very much grounded while the serious impacts of the epidemic were managed.
QHA readers will be familiar with the creation of yearly forecasts, to anticipate business performance and identify times when trade might be slower. Once these periods are identified, strategies can be put in place to boost revenue during those times. During the traditionally quiet months of January and February, many hotels in Australia rely on tourists coming through for Chinese New Year. Instead, as a result of the outbreak, many customers from China were forced to cancel.
It’s much harder to prepare for an event like this one – not only because it’s unexpected, but also because different strategies are often required. If staff become ill, it may not be clear how long they will be unavailable. They could be prevented from working for a long period of time. If that’s the case, they will want to have adequate income protection insurance in place to reduce the financial impacts to them and their families. Your Intrust Super Relationship Manager can help you and your staff with this. Emergency plans also need to be in place in the event any guests become sick and areas of the hotel may need to be quarantined. And finally, strategies will be needed in case the event impacts business for several months. With so many areas to consider, I’m sure many of you have been under a lot of pressure. No doubt you’ll be looking forward to seeing business return to normal levels.
Strategies that can help businesses deal with unexpected downturns are important in any industry. In superannuation, we need strategies in place to help deal with economic downturn and market volatility, which can have an impact on investment returns. Just as hoteliers create yearly forecasts, our investment managers analyse the markets and the global economy to ensure our members’ retirement savings are protected even in challenging times.
Just this past year, escalating trade tensions between the US and China and slow global economic growth saw some downturn creep into share markets. The ongoing economic effects of coronavirus also saw markets hit by volatility early in 2020. Diversifying our investment portfolios was vital in minimising the impact of a fall in sharemarkets. And despite going through a rocky economic climate, Intrust Super’s Balanced option returned a fantastic 14.01% for the year to 31 December 2019. It was great that our investment strategy could deliver some stability and growth for members in 2019*.
If you’d like to know more about Intrust Super’s investment strategy, or are interested in reviewing your investment options, please get in touch. Your Intrust Super Relationship Manager can provide you with our monthly Investment Guide and discuss our range of investment options with your staff. We are at your service.
Past performance is not an indication of future performance. The opinions expressed in this column are my own and do not necessarily represent the view of Intrust Super. The information contained in this document is of a general nature only, and does not take into account your individual financial situation, objectives and needs. You should consider the appropriateness of the general information having regard to your own situation before making any investment decision. For personal advice, please contact the Intrust360° financial advice team on 1300 001 360. A Product Disclosure Statement is available at www.intrust.com.au or call us on 132 467 for a copy.
Issued by IS Industry Fund Pty Ltd | MySuper Unique Identifier: 65704511371601 | ABN: 45 010 814 623 | AFSL No: 238051 | RSE Licence No: L0001298 | Intrust Super ABN 65 704 511 371 | SPIN/USI: HPP0100AU | RSE Registration No: R100439
