Crisis Management Practices in Tourism SMEs During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background and purpose: This study examines crisis management practices (CMPs) for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the field of tourism during the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The purpose of this study is to analyse how tourism SMEs reacted to the crisis caused by the pandemic. The present research aims to determine which operational CMPs were deployed by tourism SMEs to minimize the impact of the crisis.Design/Methodology/Approach: This study focuses on the following types of tourism SMEs – lodging facilities, food and beverage (F&B) facilities, and tourist agencies (TA). A total of 574 valid online questionnaires were obtained from SME managers. The structured questionnaire included 27 CMPs belonging to the four dimensions of crisis management – workforce, cost control, organizational support and marketing CMPs. Exploratory factor analysis and the non-parametric Kruskal Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to investigate SMEs response to the crisis.Results: Results indicate that SMEs primarily focus on the following CMP dimensions (respectively): workforce, cost control, organizational support, and promotional and customer-related marketing practices. Results show that there are statistically significant differences in the usage of different CMPs among the different types of SMEs.Conclusion: The use of selected variables enables an internationally comparable benchmarking process and facilitates the improvement of tourism SMEs crisis management. The conclusion provides suggestions for future research and useful information for scholars, policy makers, and tourism managers.

A bibliometric review of research on COVID-19 and tourism: Reflections for moving forward

“…The major tenet of the articles within this theme is how to recover tourism with the vision to build back better. Specifically, articles develop their discussions around three major sub-themes: dealing with the ongoing crisis ( Alonso et al, 2020 ; Kaushal & Srivastava, 2021 ); suggesting recovery strategies ( Cardoso, 2020 ; Kukanja, Planinc, & Sikošek, 2020 ; Yeh, 2021 ); and envisioning the future of tourism and hospitality ( Prideaux, Thompson, & Pabel, 2020 ; Sigala, 2020 ).…”

“…Articles in this theme reflect on learnings from previous crises to discuss how tourism stakeholders can identify and address not only the impacts of this current crisis but also recover and get ready for future challenges. Issues that organizations need to address include but are not limited to ( Kaushal & Srivastava, 2021 ; Kukanja et al, 2020 ; Yeh, 2021 ): dealing with a workforce, cost control, marketing destination post-crisis, and dealing with the negative tourist perception post-crisis. Researchers have presented guidelines to recover from the current pandemic ( Cardoso, 2020 ), however, limited studies have considered the process of recovery for different sized firms, as big, small, family and/or one entrepreneur firms have been affected differently by the pandemic.…”

How Guest Delight Affected Hotel Pricing before and during Covid-19 Pandemic

“…As the industry was not adequately prepared for a disaster situation such as Covid-19 (Abo-Murad, Al-Khrabsheh, & Jamil, 2019), hotels faced diminished demand, changing customer needs, and weak liquidity (Kukanja, Planinc, & Sikošek, 2020), particularly in Europe where the most negative impacts have been reported (Napierala, Leniewska-Napierala, & Burski, 2020). During the 2008 economic downturn, hotels downgraded their rates to increase occupancy, leading to even more inadequate revenues (Chih-Chien, 2009).…”

Entrepreneurial Marketing Strategy of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Pandemic Covid-19 Era

“…In implementing the mitigation program for the covid 19 impacts, the government instructs budget reallocation and refocusing of policies to provide economic incentives for MSME and informal sectors to continue to produce and have activities and do not terminate employment (PHK). A stimulus is expected to encourage the growth of competitive MSMEs and contribute to the national economy (Kukanja et al, 2020).…”