Essay Sample on Covid-19 and its Effect on the Tourism Industry

Covid-19 originated from China in December 2019 and has since spread worldwide, with millions of people infected and thousands losing their lives. This pandemic has come with significant risks on people's health, overwhelming the health sector, halting social activities, shuttering businesses, and straining economies. The tourism sector is one industry that felt the wrath of the virus; it has been brought to its knees by the impact of Covid-19. Historically, this is the first time the hospitality sector has faced such a substantial lasting challenge. Although this virus has indirectly or directly affected every industry and individual, this paper focuses on Covid-19's impact on the tourism and hospitality sector, and the academic sector, and the strategies and solutions taken to overcome these challenges.

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Covid-19 affected business ventures and customers, and students, particularly in the tourism and hospitality academia. There are fear and confusion due to the virus, and medical researchers are on their heels every day trying to find a vaccine and cure to salvage the human race from this virus's cruelty.

The pandemic has similarly contributed to massive job losses in the transport, hospitality, and lodging industry. Cinemas, restaurants, and lodges have closed their doors to tourists, with others turning into quarantine centers accommodating suspected Covid patients. The tourism sector highly depends on people visiting nations and places to explore their culture and beautiful sceneries (Gursoy & Chi, 2020). Travels hold a significant part in spreading the virus and hence circulates the transfer of Covid-19 faster. The closing of borders by nations at the peak of the virus restricted people globally from traveling; this brought an unexpected interruption of events in the tourism industry.

Jobs and employment in the tourism and hospitality industry have also had their fair share of the pandemic's impact. With the closure of airlines, hotels, and recreational centers at the pandemic's peak, many companies decided to lay off their staff.

Even as things are slowly going back to normal with flights back in operation, it is still a challenge for tourism as most lodging, hospitality, and travel that had shut down will have to start from scratch. Besides, even with the high numbers of infections and deaths, not everyone is satisfied with the government's proposal to go back to normalcy. People fear for their health and their lives. Thus it will take a lot of effort and time to convince the public to engage in tourism activities.

The transport industry has felt the pinch of the virus due to the travel restrictions imposed to curb the virus's spread. With strict lockdowns, flights have recorded the lowest number of people moving in and out of their nations and regions. This situation has led to many flight cancellations and the incidents of near-empty trips. Air companies have recorded losses in billions, with some going bankrupt because of the Covid-19 adverse effects. Public road transport, as well as cruise ships, also feel the impact.

After the containment of the virus, most individuals will still prefer private means of transport to public transport. Although the public will be confident that the virus is under control, most people will always be cautious and avoid traveling in buses and commuter trains to avoid coming in close contact with other people. It is going to take some time for people to trust themselves and those around them.

Airlines will have to lower their prices and market themselves more to attract more passengers to salvage their economies. But that is not going to be a straightforward approach since this cutting down on air ticket prices might sequentially lead to low income and consequentially low wages working in the aviation and transport industry. Companies that offer private transport services might, on the other hand, fish big as most people sought safe 'uncontaminated' means of moving around.

The impact on learning is similarly significant; most schools resorted to online classes; this is after the government gave a directive for all schools to be closed down and every learner to stay at home (Toquero, 2020). The availability of technology has helped in continuing the learning process amid the pandemic (Qiu et al., 2020). However, online learning has also had its challenges since scholars have not been able to have a typical class experience and face-to-face interaction with their tutors and peers.

Supporting online learning has also been a significant financial challenge to students who lack the resources, including digital devices such as laptops and the internet – which is costly – to attend lessons. Tutors have also had a hard time adapting to the new system, and they have had to undergo training to make sure that online learning is a success (Gursoy & Chi, 2020).

Customer interaction and relation has also changed. To curb the spread of the virus through paper money, many customers have adopted paperless payment methods forcing businesses to adapt to the same changes, and those that have failed to do so are left behind. Thanks to 21st-century technology, some companies have still provided services to their clients through online platforms.

The buying and selling of products online have shown a significant rise compared to before the virus hit (Kaushal & Srivastava, 2020). Organizations are now holding meetings through online platforms, including skype and zoom. The tourism sector has been facing challenges in the past like global warming, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, NORO virus – although they caused a reduction in the number of traveling tourists, none of those had such an impact as adverse as Covid-19 (Walmsley et al., 2020).

Despite its harsh impacts on several sectors, including business, education, and the transport industry, Covid-19 has helped companies appreciate the use of technology and adopt innovative mechanisms – including offering online services to reduce physical contact – to survive through the pandemic.

Humans are known to be social beings relying on each other in one way or another, including hanging out with friends over drinks and movies after a long stressful day. Unfortunately, the pandemic came to distort the socialization culture. For instance, people have had to change the greeting culture from shaking hands and hugging to waving fist bumps or elbow bumps; all this is to curb the spread of the virus.

Social gatherings, including birthday parties, weddings, and pool parties, have had to be burned, with bars, restaurants, cinemas, and recreational centers shut and only allowed to operate under strict guidelines from the governments (Spinelli & Pellino, 2020). I have had to stay a lot indoors, attending my classes online; this has affected me mentally to some extent since I cannot meet my friends or engage in outdoor activities like going for group road trips, which I enjoy so much.

The hospitality and travel sector could experience a long depression, basing on how individuals will get back to trusting international travel and the safety of interacting with persons from other nations. Tourists will have to be confident with most countries' mandatory testing exercise to be at least self-assured that they are not risking their lives when booking a room and a flight in a different state.

Even though the pandemic has been quite harsh on us, several businesses and sectors have put in measures to help them adjust and overcome these challenges. The governments have been on the lead to safeguard their citizens' welfare by giving restrictions and guidelines such as imposing curfews and closing businesses that warrant social interactions.

However, to salvage the economy, these businesses need to be up and running, particularly in the tourism sector, generating revenues for the government (Walmsley et al., 2020). To get things back to normal, the hospitality and tourism sector has developed strategies to respond to this issue as they bring their businesses back to normalcy. That includes using electronic payment methods to minimize spread through contact with money.

All visitors and customers going into hotels, restaurants, and lodges must adhere to Covid-19 guidelines by always wearing masks, having their temperature checked at the entrance, and always sanitizing or washing hands (Yeh, 2020). Tourists checking in in lodgings and those visiting from other nations have to take Covid-19 tests and only be allowed entry into the country after being cleared of Covid.

By strictly implementing these measures, then conducting businesses becomes much more comfortable while still curbing the spread of Covid-19. Besides, organizations have to be always ready for any eventualities if another disaster or pandemic hits in the future; they need to save and invest in enough resources to cushion the businesses and staff to minimize job losses.

By adapting to online learning, the education sector has similarly been able to cope with the pandemic and ensure that learners do not just idle at home but instead continue with the syllabus without compromising their health.

In conclusion, the adverse impacts of Covid-19 have been sweeping in several sectors globally. It has been quite a challenge for countries and even for the most powerful nation globally – the US, to control the pandemic and sequentially conduct businesses to prevent an economic recession. Companies in the hospitality and tourism sector have had to adapt to the new practices and conditions to help control the virus's spread. Students had to resort to online learning even though it is a challenge to some who cannot afford the resources needed for this type of schooling.

In general, people have had to adapt to the new culture of avoiding hand greetings and socializing. Doctors and nurses have always been on the frontline fighting against this disease and offering unconditional care to every patient as medical researchers try to find a cure. Luckily with the emergence of approved vaccines, what is left is to hope that this menace is brought to an end soon so that the world can resume complete normalcy.

References

Gursoy, D., & Chi, C. G. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the hospitality industry: a review of the current situations and a research agenda. Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, 29(5), 527-529. doi:10.1080/19368623.2020.1788231

Kaushal, V., & Srivastava, S. (2020). Hospitality and tourism industry amid COVID-19 pandemic: perspectives on challenges and learnings from India. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 92, 102707. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278431920302590

Qiu, R. T., Park, J., Li, S., & Song, H. (2020). Social costs of tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Annals of Tourism Research, 84, 102994. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738320301389

Spinelli, A., & Pellino, G. (2020). COVID19 pandemic: perspectives on an unfolding crisis. The British journal of surgery. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7228411/

Toquero, C. M. (2020). Challenges and Opportunities for Higher Education amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Philippine Context. Pedagogical Research, 5(4). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1263557

Walmsley, T., Rose, A., & Wei, D. (2020). Impacts on the US Macroeconomy of Mandatory Business Closures in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Available at SSRN 3570117. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3570117

Yeh, S. S. (2020). Tourism recovery strategy against COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism Recreation Research, 1-7. doi:10.1080/02508281.2020.1805933