A message of solidarity in a desperate year: Lotte World Tower, home to Lotte Duty Free’s second-busiest store, sent out a series of spectacular illuminated messages of hope and support to the Chinese and Korean people as the COVID-19 crisis deepened in February 2020. The messages, which lit up the giant structure, offered positive messages such as ‘Urachacha Korea’ (‘come on’ or ‘cheer up’) and ‘Himnara Wuhan’ (literally ‘add oil Wuhan’, a typical Korean expression of support and encouragement).

Luxottica Group honours Italian health workers: Italian eyewear specialist Luxottica Group made a moving tribute to health workers in Italy, which was one of the hardest-hit countries in Europe, mid-crisis. The company illuminated the façade of its main plant in Argodo to honour the courage of the medical front liners fighting to curb the spread of the disease. The company also donated hundreds of thousands of protective masks to Italian hospitals and public health institutions, as well as to its global health partners. In addition, Luxottica Group CEO Leonardo Del Vecchio donated €10 million and six respirators to the Fiera Milano hospital, through his charitable foundation.

Evoking a golden age: “Just like the golden days of travel in the 50s, we miss the sense of adventure travelling to a destination,” said Qatar Airways in a social media post in May 2020 that nostalgically evoked a bygone age. "We’re confident that the appetite for travel in the future will be sustained. That human desire to journey, to experience foreign cuisines, cultures, history, heritage, tastes and traditions will never be sated." Qatar Airways played on these sentiments beautifully in this image.

China Duty Free Group steps up Hainan investment drive: “The Haikou International Duty Free Mall will become the largest single duty free store in the world and a wonderful travel destination, with a total area even exceeding CDF Mall in Sanya.” Speaking to us in May 2020, China Duty Free Group President Charles Chen spoke of how the retailer was (and is) accelerating its role in leading the travel retail industry into post-COVID-19 recovery with a series of major developments on Hainan island, led by the magnificent Haikou International Duty Free Complex (above), due to open on 28 October 2022.

A symbol in the sky: Qatar Airways showed its support for Breast Cancer Awareness month in October 2020 by ‘drawing’ a symbolic pink ribbon in the sky above Qatar. Flight QR9901 took a special route to create the ribbon image with its unique flight path being displayed in real-time by popular flight tracking sites. The ‘Think Pink’ flight was exclusively operated by women – from the ground operations, technical, and dispatch teams to the flight deck and cabin crew. The unusual flight path attracted the attention of many people who tracked the Qatar Airways flight throughout its duration and tuned in live to watch.