Exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the perceptions and sentiments of tourism employees: evidence from a small island tourism economy in the Caribbean

Ryan R. Peterson,Robin B. DiPietro

doi:10.1108/ihr-10-2020-0063

Ryan R. Peterson, Robin B. DiPietro

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1108/ihr-10-2020-0063

Copy DOI

Abstract

PurposeBuilding on tourism crisis studies and behavioral economics, this study describes a national survey conducted among 439 Aruban tourism and nontourism employees.Design/methodology/approachRegression analysis was subsequently conducted to analyze the relationship between experienced well-being, crisis duration and tourism and nontourism employee sentiments.FindingsThe findings indicate that tourism employee sentiments are generally, and significantly, more negative and their concerns about the future are significantly more pessimistic than nontourism employees. The results show that the experienced well-being and expected duration of the COVID-19 crisis have a significant negative effect on tourism employees' sentiments. The paper provides several policies and industry recommendations for strengthening tourism employee well-being and economic resilience. Several avenues for future research are presented.Originality/valueThe current study contributes to this literature by showing that the increased pessimism and negativity of the tourism employees as compared to nontourism employees during the current pandemic influence their thoughts about future income and earnings as well as future purchases.

Highlights

It is a truism that international tourism is facing its largest crisis since the inception of modern-day travel over the past century (Hunt, 2020)
Considering the significant economic and labor contribution of tourism in small island Caribbean economies as well as the size and scope of the COVID-19 crisis, this paper describes an exploratory study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the perceptions and sentiments of tourism employees in Aruba
3.1 Operationalization and data collection Based on the constructs of consumer sentiments and experienced well-being, a standardized questionnaire was designed consisting of multiple items using a standard five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5, including 0 To measure tourism employee sentiments, use was made of existing items for measuring the following dimensions (Katona, 1975; Curtin, 2007): financial situation, economic conditions, government finance, job opportunities, discretionary spending, saving propensity, purchasing channel and income sufficiency

Summary

Introduction

It is a truism that international tourism is facing its largest crisis since the inception of modern-day travel over the past century (Hunt, 2020). Amidst the health pandemic and economic fallout due to COVID-19, tourism and hospitality industries are one of the hardest struck due to several interrelated factors, including travel restrictions, national lockdowns, business closures and the subsequent impact on lives and livelihoods. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/ legalcode

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion