TOURISM BUSINESS RESPONSES TO SOUTH AFRICA’S COVID-19 PANDEMIC EMERGENCY

The COVID-19 pandemic has compelled tourism businesses to rapidly adjust operations in newer and more resilient ways as firms have to change priorities and respond to challenges, including of shifts in consumer demand. Extant research on tourism business responses and adaptations to COVID-19 highlig...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jayne M. ROGERSON
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Editura Universităţii din Oradea 2021-04-01
Series:Geo Journal of Tourism and Geosites
Subjects:
Online Access:http://gtg.webhost.uoradea.ro/PDF/GTG-2-2021/gtg.35211-657.pdf
_version_ 1818448504526209024
author Jayne M. ROGERSON
author_facet Jayne M. ROGERSON
author_sort Jayne M. ROGERSON
collection DOAJ
description The COVID-19 pandemic has compelled tourism businesses to rapidly adjust operations in newer and more resilient ways as firms have to change priorities and respond to challenges, including of shifts in consumer demand. Extant research on tourism business responses and adaptations to COVID-19 highlights the significance of organizational resilience and ability of businesses to respond to uncertainty. Using a qualitative approach this paper investigates tourism business responses in South Africa, seemingly the country worst hit on the African continent by the COVID-19 crisis. The research analyses tourism business responses occurring in one of South Africa’s tourism-dependent areas and thus most exposed to the radical effects of COVID-19. Key findings are of the self-reliant character of the community of tourism enterprises in and around Overstrand cluster in the Western Cape. Product diversification, reductions of prices, reduced staffing, changed marketing, greater inter-enterprise cooperation are several of the most significant business adjustments undertaken. With the negative financial impacts of COVID19 on local tourism enterprises exacerbated by South African government measures for alcohol bans and beach closures there is evidence of a disconnect and lack of trust between the area’s local businesses and national government.
first_indexed 2024-12-14T20:20:34Z
format Article
id doaj.art-86d4f7fab951443db3a5029f11a167e9
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2065-0817
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-14T20:20:34Z
publishDate 2021-04-01
publisher Editura Universităţii din Oradea
record_format Article
series Geo Journal of Tourism and Geosites
spelling doaj.art-86d4f7fab951443db3a5029f11a167e92022-12-21T22:48:45ZengEditura Universităţii din OradeaGeo Journal of Tourism and Geosites2065-08172021-04-0135233834710.30892/gtg.35211-657TOURISM BUSINESS RESPONSES TO SOUTH AFRICA’S COVID-19 PANDEMIC EMERGENCYJayne M. ROGERSON0University of Johannesburg, School of Tourism & Hospitality, Johannesburg, South Africa, e-mail: jayner@uj.ac.zaThe COVID-19 pandemic has compelled tourism businesses to rapidly adjust operations in newer and more resilient ways as firms have to change priorities and respond to challenges, including of shifts in consumer demand. Extant research on tourism business responses and adaptations to COVID-19 highlights the significance of organizational resilience and ability of businesses to respond to uncertainty. Using a qualitative approach this paper investigates tourism business responses in South Africa, seemingly the country worst hit on the African continent by the COVID-19 crisis. The research analyses tourism business responses occurring in one of South Africa’s tourism-dependent areas and thus most exposed to the radical effects of COVID-19. Key findings are of the self-reliant character of the community of tourism enterprises in and around Overstrand cluster in the Western Cape. Product diversification, reductions of prices, reduced staffing, changed marketing, greater inter-enterprise cooperation are several of the most significant business adjustments undertaken. With the negative financial impacts of COVID19 on local tourism enterprises exacerbated by South African government measures for alcohol bans and beach closures there is evidence of a disconnect and lack of trust between the area’s local businesses and national government.http://gtg.webhost.uoradea.ro/PDF/GTG-2-2021/gtg.35211-657.pdfcovid-19tourism businessadaptationresponsesresiliencesouth africa
spellingShingle Jayne M. ROGERSON
TOURISM BUSINESS RESPONSES TO SOUTH AFRICA’S COVID-19 PANDEMIC EMERGENCY
Geo Journal of Tourism and Geosites
covid-19
tourism business
adaptation
responses
resilience
south africa
title TOURISM BUSINESS RESPONSES TO SOUTH AFRICA’S COVID-19 PANDEMIC EMERGENCY
title_full TOURISM BUSINESS RESPONSES TO SOUTH AFRICA’S COVID-19 PANDEMIC EMERGENCY
title_fullStr TOURISM BUSINESS RESPONSES TO SOUTH AFRICA’S COVID-19 PANDEMIC EMERGENCY
title_full_unstemmed TOURISM BUSINESS RESPONSES TO SOUTH AFRICA’S COVID-19 PANDEMIC EMERGENCY
title_short TOURISM BUSINESS RESPONSES TO SOUTH AFRICA’S COVID-19 PANDEMIC EMERGENCY
title_sort tourism business responses to south africa s covid 19 pandemic emergency
topic covid-19
tourism business
adaptation
responses
resilience
south africa
url http://gtg.webhost.uoradea.ro/PDF/GTG-2-2021/gtg.35211-657.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT jaynemrogerson tourismbusinessresponsestosouthafricascovid19pandemicemergency