Covid-19 and the Tourism Industry: Critical Overview, Lessons and Policy Options

Abstract

Coronavirus pandemic has enormous impacts on the entire socio-economic structure of countries worldwide. It accounts for the epileptic service delivery of many enterprises globally. The pandemic has massive consequences that have to reshape the present and future landscape of the tourism industry. Thus, this paper critically examines the impact of nCOV on the aviation, cruise-shipping, and hospitality components of the tourism industry. It investigates why the tourism industry is the first and the most hit sector by Covid-19. In light of these, the paper provides an in-depth discussion on how Covid-19 affects jobs, man-hours, revenue, income, and livelihood of workers, as well as owners of the tourism industry. Discussions were also channelled on how the impacts of the pandemic on the tourism industry affect global GDP and foreign exchange earnings of countries whose economy relays significantly on tourism. The study concluded that with the prolonged lockdown, the tourism industry would continue to experience a large slide down. The paper posits that urgent policy remediation is necessary to revamp the sector and rescue it from imminent collapse and extinct.

COVID-19 in Management Studies: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Indeed, a strategy to cope with the crisis and revive the air travel sector, must include not only a short-term orientation (reduction of flight prices), but also a strategy aimed at reassuring passengers that flying is safe and encouraging them to return to the air through orientation to hygiene and cleanliness (i.e., temperature checks, face masks, social distancing, ultra-violet cleaning of aircraft cabins, security screening trays, and search areas have all been suggested as a way of safeguarding travelers and staff) [46]. Obviously, as some authors suggest, alongside the strategies adopted by companies in the sector, it is also essential for governments to intervene in order to rebuild public confidence also through cooperation and encouraging the introduction and use of advanced technology [55].…”

Opportunities for the United States hotel industry to recover from COVID-19: a multi-period DEA analysis of key efficiency determinants

“…This could be attributed to the United States domestic travel's disproportionally high rebound in 2021 when international travel was not yet possible. The longing to travel and the increase in leisure-seeking behaviour drove individuals to look for domestic getaways (Ocheni et al, 2020) The United States hotel industry benefits from a global crisis due to the prevalence of "staycations" as travellers tend to forego flying to a foreign country and favour vacation destinations within driving distance (Campiranon and Scott, 2014). The recovery in 2021 may also be due to the aftermath of the Hospitality and Commerce Job Recovery Act of 2021 , which offered numerous benefits to the hotel industry, including a tax credit on unsold inventory, employee retention tax credit and 50% tax credit for travel expenses (Congress.gov, 2022).…”

“…The pandemic has hit the hotel industry particularly hard since guests were unable to travel due to stay-at-home orders, partial and full border closures and the fear of transmission. The United States' hotel industry lost USD 30bn in revenue between March and May 2020 (Ozdemir et al ., 2021), with daily losses estimated at USD 400m (Ocheni et al ., 2020). Although hotels in the United States were not required to shut down during the pandemic, due to the lack of customers and general reluctance to travel (Şengel et al ., 2022), occupancy levels suffered.…”

Media Branding and Brand Management: Promotion Strategies of Ukrainian National TV Channels during COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The coronavirus pandemic has impacted all sectors: it has altered functioning of educational institutions (Makki & Bali, 2021); it has shaken strongly tourist business (Dimitrios, Christos, Ioannis, & Vasiliadis, 2020;Fernández-Bedoya, Meneses-La-Riva, & Suyo-Vega, 2021;Ocheni, Agba, Agba, & Eteng, 2020); it has forced state officials to reconsider state-governing practices (Machmud, Irawan, Karinda, Susilo, & Salahudin, 2021) as well as to review issues related to human rights (Rusi & Shqarri, 2020); it has kept in limbo show business and made celebrities look for alternative channels to maintain contact with their audiences (Chaiuk, Alyeksyeyeva, Borysovych, Karpova, & Gayevska, 2021). This study explores branding and brand management strategies employed by Ukrainian media companies in the national media market hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.…”