The Effects and Challenges of COVID-19 in the Hospitality and Tourism Sector in India

Abstract

The hospitality and tourism sector is considered the backbone for economicgrowth, especially in developing countries. However, this thriving sector is particularly vulnerable to naturaland human-made disasters. This study assesses the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019) pandemic in India’s hospitality and tourism sector by addressing essential aspects such as current conditions and challenges as well as future perspectives. The secondary research methodology has been applied for the research. For data collection, the secondary data has been collected through literature, journal articles, government documents, etc. The research findings show that COVID-19 in India has significantly affected the hospitality and tourism sector. Global and domestic tourists have canceled their programs to visit the natural, historical, religious, and cultural sites. The flight tickets and the hotel reservations have been canceled. A significant number of workers in the sector have lost their jobs. This pandemic has affected the economy of the country as well as the well-being of the individuals to a large extent. As the intensification of the COVID-19 is being thought to cause a long-term impact, this study could be relevant to the decision-makers in regards to the crucial task of reviving the sector.

Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 on Society, Environment, Economy, and Education

“…Indian tourism is estimated to face a great revenue loss of INR 1.25 trillion the year 2020 due to the closure of hotels and aviation industry. According to CARE report, Indian tourism industry expects a revenue loss of INR 69,400 crore due to the suspensions of international flights [81,82]. It was mentioned that there will be 50% loss in foreign exchange earnings in 2021.…”

Travel Motivation during COVID-19: A Case from Nepal

“…Young people (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29) and travel motivation were explored as significant (5%) and the second greatest contributor to marginal effects in Model B. Not surprisingly, this result discloses that young people prefer traveling more during COVID-19, which was our second hypothesis.…”

“…Nevertheless, during the current pandemic, people have limitations while selecting a specific destination. People need to choose a travel destination based on their health risks and psychological risks that suit their aims to visit the destination information on safety, pricing, and travel campaigns [28,29]. Based on the literature, we can say that tourists who want to travel during COVID-19 also select the destination to feel safer by minimizing the health and other risks.…”

“…For instance, people may feel safe while traveling with family members or friends in a closed circle. Similarly, the young generation (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29) is also included in the model because popular international bodies and literature discovered that young people travel more during COVID-19 (See Section 3).…”

“…Travel motivation and related factors have been studied widely [4,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. Travel motivation during COVID-19 for ordinary work in Bangladesh [19], travel motivation and psychological behavior in Australia [34], air travelers' motivation in China [35], and the relation between school breaks and international travel motivation in Germany [36] were explored in different geographical locations.…”