Abstract
The present study examined the perception, reaction (i.e., possible measures), and future development from the perspectives of hotel and tourism practitioners and experts to investigate the influence of coronavirus disease 2019 (i.e., COVID-19) on the hospitality and tourism industry in China. After conducting 58 in-depth interviews among hotel and tourism practitioners and experts, feasible and practical measures were proposed to reduce such influence and predict the future development of China’s hospitality and tourism industry. Findings indicate that the influence of COVID-19 on the industry is perceived mainly through the pandemic’s economic and social effects. Possible measures that can be adopted for the recovery of China’s hospitality and tourism industry include the following aspects: government financial support, employee relationship management and electronic (e)-training, business marketing management, and industry co-operation network. A Perception-Reaction-Predication (PRP) crisis model is also proposed.
Highlights
The current outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a tremendous effect on the hospitality and tourism industry worldwide [1]
The gender ratio of hotel managers and experts is close to 1:1, while tourism managers and experts consist of a larger proportion of men, which is in line with the current gender share among China’s tourism practitioners
Based on the three-stage crisis management framework, the present study identifies the influence of COVID-19 on the hospitality and tourism industry by conducting in-depth interviews with hotel and tourism practitioners and experts
Summary
The current outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a tremendous effect on the hospitality and tourism industry worldwide [1]. According to Pforr [2], the tourism industry, and hotels in particular, is vulnerable to various crises and/or disasters. Examples of crises and/or disasters include economic crises, terrorism and political turmoil, disease outbreaks, and natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes [3,4]. Potential tourists may cancel their trips to a specific destination that has been hit by a crisis/disaster, which will in turn negatively affect the destination economy [5,6]. Have reported that crises and disasters consistently have always had negative effects on the hospitality and tourism industry. In early May 2003, using Marco Polo Hotel in Hong Kong as an example, its occupancy rate dropped to
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