Travel and tourism were among the most affected sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic. Global travel restrictions caused a massive decline in international demand for travel, and data from the latest issue of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer showed that international tourist arrivals fell by 72% in 2020.

One of the most anticipated events of the century -- the development of the Covid-19 vaccine -- also happens to be one of the most contentious. Potential recipients from every segment of society have a wide range of concerns and many have grown distrustful of information sources they previously counted on.

On 28 December, a $900 billion pandemic relief bill was signed into law, which included enhanced unemployment benefits and direct cash payments. The immediate effect for financial services companies was an increase in customer inquiries, placing a large and unplanned burden on customer support teams, with some companies citing volume increases of over 1000%... yes 1000%.