‘No Ebola…still doomed’ – The Ebola-induced tourism crisis

Abstract

A B S T R A C TMany recent crisis and disasters affecting tourism have been studied, but few explicitly explore health related crisis in developing countries. This study analyses the effect of the Ebola Virus Disease Epidemic (EVDE) on The Gambia, where, despite no reported cases, EVDE had devastating consequences. A Rapid Situation Analysis is used to gain insights into responses to the EVDE, encompassing interviews with key stakeholders, field observations and follow up meetings with those involved in managing the crisis over 21 months. A crisis and disaster framework is used to understand the challenges encountered. Findings highlight the importance of consumer perception and preparedness and management failures' consequences, contributing to the broader debate on the indirect threat of epidemics on tourism in developing countries.

Beach Tourism in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic: Critical Issues, Knowledge Gaps and Research Opportunities

“…The decisions made by tourists about their chosen activities and travel destinations are influenced by their perceptions of safety and security [ 40 ]. Risk perception is a subjective psychological construct that is influenced by cognitive factors (knowledge and understanding of risks), emotional and experiential factors (personal experience), and social, cultural, and individual factors such as gender, education, and ideology [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ].…”

Tourism resilience in the context of integrated destination and disaster management (DM2)

“…Despite the growth in research on DM2 in tourism and the repeated calls for the adoption of more proactive, strategic planning approaches to managing disasters by tourism enterprises (Ritchie, 2004), most studies have taken a reactive stance on examining disasters by emphasizing the response and recovery activities undertaken by tourism stakeholders as opposed to the planning and preparedness operations (Khazai et al, 2018;Mair et al, 2016;Ritchie, 2008). Albeit surprising, this is understandable for the tourism industry, as a substantial number of TBs do not have written disaster plans or have disaster plans that are outdated (Hystad & Keller, 2008;Novelli, Burgess, Jones, & Ritchie, 2018;Sydnor-Bousso et al, 2011). Some tourism enterprises perceive the cost of developing and implementing strategic plans on DM2 as exceeding the benefits (Nguyen et al, 2017).…”

Biosecurity, crisis management, automation technologies, and economic performance of travel, tourism and hospitality companies – a conceptual framework

“…A flurry of scholarly works came out of that experience, linking how destinations were impacted by the SARS outbreak and how they reacted to ensure recovery (Cooper, 2005;Hung, et al, 2018;McKercher, 2004;Zeng, et al 2005). There is also an occasional reference to other viral outbreaks (Ebola, H1N1 swine flu, MERS) and discussions of how these viruses have threatened or impacted upon the tourism industry, and what can be done to recover following such outbreaks (Hall, 2010(Hall, , 2011(Hall, , 2015a(Hall, , 2015b(Hall, , 2020Hall & James, 2011;Hung et al, 2018;Joo et al, 2019;Maphanga & Henama, 2019;Novelli et al, 2018). One of the major concerns is that diseases can cross borders and that this is a threat to public health as well as tourists and tourism professionals (Jamal and Budke, 2020;Hanrahan and Melly, 2019;Sönmez et al, 2019).…”