HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM 1

CHALLENGES OF HOSPITALITY, LEISURE AND TRAVEL INDUSTRY DURING

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Introduction

The new decade of 2020 began with an unfortunate and unsettling occurrence of an

infectious new disease that surpassed the kind of infections that the world has encountered in the

previous 30 years or so (Nkengasong, 2020). This time the condition is referred to as severe

acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak was coronavirus. Later on, it was named covid-19

that begun in China and spread so fast to other nations worldwide. Many European countries are

still experiencing fast spread and numerous deaths from the disease. Nevertheless, the effects

that the current coronavirus outbreak has caused has surpassed those that were seen during a

similar SARS pandemic back in 2002-2003. The cases of coronavirus infections worldwide stand

at 10million while the deaths have hit the half a million mark. The rapid spread of covid-19 has

made the World Health organization issue travel advisories that have made the tourism and

hospitality industry vulnerable (Zhang et al., 2019). The cruise ship in Japan forced to go into

isolation because it had infected tourists on board marked the initial strategy that has since

unfolded. The impacts have adversely affected the hospitality and tourism industry across the

globe more than any other sector. Therefore, this paper highlights the challenges that the

hospitality, leisure and travel industry faced during the covid-19 pandemic.

The hospitality and tourism industry do thrive on visitation patterns, and relevant efforts

are usually placed by those making decisions to attract more visitors that will, in turn, register

massive support to the tourism sector and eventually enhance the multiplier impact from the

industry. The ongoing pandemic has called for the observation of travel restrictions at both

international and national levels. These measures to curb the spread of corona virus-like events

cancellations, travel bans, quarantine requirements, border closures have brought extreme
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challenges to the hospitality and tourism industry (Gössling et al., 2020). For instance, air travel

has been considered an accelerating factor for airborne diseases like influenza (Browne et al.,

2016). This travel segment has been slapped with significant curtailment as the necessity for

personal survival and safety become vital (Manjula Bai, 2020). Correspondingly, this has

drastically reduced the need for leisure travels as well as the hedonistic gateways searches.

From the point of origin, the coronavirus was associated with a seafood market in Hubei

province's city of Wuhan in China (Wu et al., 2020). After the first case was reported in

December of 2019 by the end of January 2020, the virus had spread to over 2000 people in

China. From there, the transmission started, and the outbreak spread in other countries in the

globe. This was a possibility because the virus has a higher tendency of spreading among the

human population (Bai et al., 2020). Tourism is referred to as a complex psychological process,

and the effects of SARS are naturally psychological. The earlier SARS impacts after its outbreak

were very severe in Hong Kong hotels. It forced the managements of the affected hotels to

instruct their staff to take annual leaves. Other workers who were on probation and contracts had

them terminated. At the same time, banks received appeals to defer loan repayments so as the

employees can be paid their salaries. On the same financial front, (Kuo, 2020) outlines that the

hotels in Taiwan were impacted in their stock performance by the covid-19 pandemic, which

made the shareholders panic and made the hotel business more fragile during the pandemic,

which also signals the ominous consequences in case there comes a future outbreak. However,

measures for confidence building were established among the investors in the hotel business to

minimize the uncertainty and panic. The step includes maximization of the sense of hygiene at

the eateries and restaurants, heightening the sense of more physical activities, limiting the habits
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for splitting in healthy environments, improving healthcare services in hospitals, and regularly

examining temperature at schools.

On the other hand, a framework was created that included the limitation of early signs of

disease detection, relevant preparedness, eventual operations to aid response, and recovery back

to normalcy. Moreover, recently as asserted by (Duarte Alonso et al., 2020), tried to explain the

challenges that small business enterprises in the tourism and hospitality industry have faced

during the pandemic and has provided the preliminary basics via inductive analysis. This

framework came up with theoretical dimensions that illustrate the relevant actions that

Hospitality and tourism sector investors need to do to cope with the current crisis. Notably, the

covid-19 pandemic might be having the exact origin of the previous SARS outbreak; however,

the impacts of the recent epidemic is severe as it is unfolding its profound implications in most

affected countries such as India, the United States and Brazil (Mohanty, 2020). Moreover, the

impacts have been severe on specifically the hospitality and tourism sector and have

continuously been experienced to the level of high unemployment rates. Approximately, the job

loss is potentially at 70% of the total workforce in the industry (Singh, 2020).

The effects of this pandemic will be efficiently visible on both the outbound and inbound

of a country's tourism sector, business travel, cruise holidays and adventure travels. The activities

that are likely to happen after the lockdown is uplifted can be predicted, and preparations require

a sound understanding of the situation that is taking place currently. |Therefore, emerging trends

such as workcations and staycations have been created by tourism and hospitality practitioners so

that they can remain unshaken in the future in a similar pandemic (Afifi, 2021). In case of rising

cases of coronavirus infections, different countries have presumed multi-layered approaches and

further initiated the utilization of the state response funds for disasters so that the rising
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pandemic can be contained. Apart from the lockdowns that were introduced and the gradual

opening of the economy, the people have been urged to make sure that they put in place the

appropriate hygiene, keeping social distance, wearing masks and avoiding unnecessary

gatherings unless required (Hassan, 2021). For the tourism activities to resume, governments

must initiate check-ins at different levels with significant pandemic reports to encourage the

limited stay days at the establishments of hospitality industries.

Although the situation has remained critical, hospitality and tourism experts have stepped

up to meet the necessities required to allow the smooth operation of the industry. Most

significantly, it is worth mentioning that this industry usually depends on practical sessions.

Thus, it must be affected by the pandemic. However, it is good to note that the industry is

gaining momentum after several months of negative impacts, making tourism and hospitality

experts advocate for education in hospitality and tourism. This will be important in innovating

new ways amidst pandemics that are constantly happening without prior plans. The previous

SARS pandemic also had a severe impact on the education of tourism and hospitality industry

which spread to other surrounding regions as asserted by (Law, 2005).

In reflecting on the above discussion, (Chrisman 2016) explains the adaptive behavior

that the entities of facial adversity should show. To cope with the pandemic, educating the

experts in the affected industry is vital and should be contemplated. The education must involve

pertinent learnings and survival alternatives in the middle of the pandemic and possibly the

revival that follows (Dahles and Susilowati, 2015). Most importantly, the ongoing pandemic has

exposed a lot of data that can be helpful to those making decisions across the tourism and

hospitality sectors and might aid in saving the lost momentum in the industry due to the covid-19

pandemic (Kim and Lee, 2019). This cogitates that fast forward. Managers must be mindful of
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emerging practices that are employees related to engaging them in multiple job responsibilities

and should be a norm in the tourism and hospitality industry. Related research also indicates that

the suggested reflection can only be achieved by delegating additional roles to job training and

amid projects in various departments. This poses an added advantage to help identify useful

employees who can be productive in the seasons of the pandemic like the one that is ongoing.

Conclusion

The covid-19 pandemic has presented circumstances that are deemed unprecedented

before the already fragile industry of tourism and hospitality. As the highly infectious

coronavirus continuously deteriorates this sector, numerous questions are raised concerning this

sector's current and future survival. Despite the huge blow, the industry is trying to save

resources so that they can remain in the business, including negotiating with their usual supplier

to grant them mutual sustenance, participate in activities that are extensively cost reduction or

reduced guaranteed time for accommodating the clients who make bookings when paying visits

to various tourist destinations. Similarly, the hospitality investors who provide accommodation

have offered extended support for those in isolation at a subsidized price during the time for

quarantine and those health practitioners who look after the covid-19 patients and cannot go back

to their usual residence quarters. All these activities have outlined the mechanisms that the

hospitality and tourism industry have put in place to remain in business until such a time that

stability will be back.

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