PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2020

EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 09/20 www.petpla.net 16 Precisely because so many things had to be organised almost on the fly, a massive jolt has been felt worldwide through conservative behaviours and company structures. Countless offline processes have suddenly gone online, and not just talks but specialist trade fairs and webinars. These last two have experienced levels of hype that can hardly be imagined. So, as the sector is slowly making some recov- ery, more traditional trade fair and event formats are being discussed, although here too, the majority of events in 2020 will take place online, if at all. Exceptions, such as China Brew China Beverage in Shanghai and Brau Beviale in Nuremberg, prove this rule (at least at the moment) and, with their current safety concepts, are also likely to set a certain benchmark for the slowly recovering trade fair world as regards subsequent events. Australia and New Zealand A long way from everywhere, with a unique ecosystem and a very spe- cial vibe, Australia and New Zealand attract millions of tourists every year from all over the world. In 2018, the countries counted a total of around 13 million visitors, nine to Australia and four to New Zealand. It is well-known that the special geographical situation of the two countries offers unbelievable variety in the plant and animal world. At almost 7.7 million square kilometres, the Aus- tralian continent is the sixth largest nation in the world, just behind Brazil, stretching 3,860 km from north to south and around 4,000 km from east to west. The landmass also includes the island of Tasmania, situated in the south east, as well as numerous islands and archipelagos, such as the Cocos Islands and Christmas Island. In terms of climate, the whole spectrum is represented, from the tropical north to the temperate south. It includes temperatures barely reaching double figures during the Australian winter in the south, and temperatures of over 40 °C in Central Australia. The eastern part is inter- mittently affected by the changeable marine currents of El Nino, accom- panied by dry periods and drought, and La Nina, its counterpart with high precipitation right across eastern Aus- tralia. The federal country is divided into six states, three territories and seven external territories. The highest elevation on the Australian mainland is Mount Kosciuszko (2,228m) in the state of New South Wales. Relative to the population, the road network is well-developed and stretches just over 900,000 km, but around 40% of this is not asphalted or concreted. Road trains run on Australia’s long-distance routes; these are extra-long truck combinations that can reach lengths of up to 50m and are used to trans- port goods over long distances right across the continent. The Australian flight network is one of the densest in the world. In the global Logistics Per- formance Index (LPI) published bian- nually by the World Bank, Australia came in 18 th place in 2018 between Spain and Italy in terms of its logistics infrastructure quality. The ratio of land area to population density is astound- ing and is related to the wide areas that are considered uninhabitable – with only 3.2 inhabitants per square kilometre, Australia lags behind even Iceland. The majority of the 25.5 million inhabitants are settled in the east. Sydney (5.2 million), Melbourne (4.9 million) and Brisbane (2.3 mil- lion) are the largest cities on the east coast, followed by Perth on the west coast with a little more than 2 million. The capital, Canberra, has around 370,000 inhabitants and is 250 km south-west of Sydney. Australia is a country of immigrants; over 90% of the population have their roots in Europe. The average age is around 38 with life expectancy – over 80 for both men and women – among the highest in the world. It is estimated that today, 100% of the population has access to clean water and sanitation. In the Better Life Index, the OECD member state appears repeatedly in the upper rankings because of a high standard of living overall, which is cal- culated with reference to income, edu- cation, safety and subjective wellbeing, among other things. There is a high affinity for consumption. The country has shown continu- ous economic growth of over 2%. With almost 78% of the workforce, the services sector is Australia’s work horse, for the most part in connec- tion with the tourism sector. This corresponds to 65% of the total GDP. Furthermore, industries like mining and construction, the financial sector, the entertainment industry and the healthcare sector also play important roles. Mining is particularly significant for exports; Australia is among the five largest raw materials providers and is a leading exporter worldwide of coal, iron ore, aluminium oxide, lead and zinc. It is also predicted that from 2022, the country could be the largest exporter of liquified petroleum gas. Strengthened trade relationships with Asia, in particular with China and India, have led to large investments from these countries in recent years. Melbourne’s skyline, Victoria, Australia Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, New South Wales, Australia