The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on small businesses in tourism and hospitality industry in Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the economic impacts of the current coronavirus disease, which is globally known as (COVID-19) pandemic, on small businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry, including food and beverages (F&B) industries in Malaysia during and after the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) and conditional (CMCO) with the emergence of new business models. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the implemented methodology involved a secondary qualitative research design based mainly on the existing literature, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports, the government’s documents, in addition to online sources and observations regarding local business experiences. Findings The findings revealed that implementing effective strategies of recovery, shaping resilience solutions and supporting policies such as the National Recovery Plan, which is backed by the government played a pivotal role in avoiding the turndown of small businesses. Originality/value This critical review is submitted as an original research paper, which aims to provide important perspectives regarding the COVID-19 pandemic impacts on the tourism and hospitality industry in Malaysia. This paper serves as a scholarly platform for further in-depth studies on various resilience solutions of small businesses.

Ensuring sustainable human resource management during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Lithuanian catering organisations

“…Czarniecka-Skubina et al (2021) stated that gastronomy and hotel industry in Poland suffered the most because of the introduced restrictions. Similar findings have been recorded by researchers who have analysed the situation in other countries (Abhari et al, 2021;Darskovic et al, 2022;Allaberganov et al, 2021;Jafari et al, 2021;Lai et al, 2020;Švagždienė et al, 2020).…”

Financial Solace: Malaysian Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency Responses to COVID-19 Challenges

“…Discussion on AKPK's initiatives to aid the tourism industry was absent. Abhari et al examined the impact of COVID-19 on small businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry, including food and beverages (F&B) industries in Malaysia during and after the enforcement of MCO and Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) [21]. This paper serves as a scholarly platform for further indepth studies on various resilience solutions for small businesses.…”

“…Nevertheless, the studies are confined to the situation before the country was hit by COVID-19. The myriad studies also discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the socio-economic activities in Malaysia, such as the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry of Malaysia [20], small businesses in the tourism and hospitality industries [21], business resilience in Malaysia: insights from Kelantan [22], and unemployment in Sabah [23]. Past literature also narrated Malaysia's experience in fighting the pandemic, particularly the key success factors in managing the health impact from January to August 2020 [24], the unprecedented Malaysian experience in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic compared to two Asian countries (Singapore and Taiwan), and the implications of COVID-19 on social well-being [25].…”

The Effects of The Covid-19 Pandemic on Tourism Small Businesses: The Case of Marmaris

“…Yönetim teması altında devlet desteği ve yöneticilerin tutumu şeklinde iki kod belirlenmiştir (Şekil 4). (Papanikos, 2020;Kalogiannidis, 2020;Zenker & Kock, 2020;Sobaih, Elshaer, Hasanein, & Abdelaziz, 2021;Abhari, Jalali, Jaafar, & Tajaddini, 2021;Moreno-Luna, Robina-Ramírez, Sánchez-Oro Sánchez, & Castro-Serrano, 2021). Türkiye'de esnafa ya da turizm işletmesi sahiplerine yönelik yapılan çalışmalarda da, Marmaris'teki duruma benzer ekonomik sorunların yaşandığı ve en önemlisinin devletin verdiği desteklerden yararlanamamaları olduğu görülmektedir (Bilgiçli & Yıldırgan, 2020;İnce, 2020;Cihangir & Demirhan, 2021;Doğru & Koçak, 2021;Güven Lisaniler & Bhatti, 2021;Nakiboğlu & Işık, 2020;Yüksek & Kalyoncu, 2021).…”

“… Marmaris'te esnaf turizmde yaşanan gelir kayıpları karşısında yeni ürün almama ve çalışan sayısını azaltma gibi sürdürülebilirliği olmayan önlemlere başvurmak zorunda kalmıştır. Yapılan bazı çalışmalarda, işten çıkarmaların işletmelerin en sık başvurduğu yöntem olduğu görülürken (Kalogiannidis, 2020;Güven Lisaniler & Bhatti, 2021) bazı esnafın da, yaşadıkları kriz karşısında internet üzerinden satış yapmak, sosyal medya ve interneti tanıtım amaçlı aktif kullanmak gibi daha yenilikçi ve pandemi koşullarına uygun önlemler geliştirdikleri görülmüştür (İnce, 2020;Abhari, Jalali, Jaafar, & Tajaddini, 2021;Cihangir & Demirhan, 2021) Tüm bu sonuçlar doğrultusunda Marmaris'te turizme yönelik çalışan esnafın alabileceği temel önlemlerden birinin yerli turistleri de çekebilecek turistik ürünlerin tanıtım ve pazarlama çalışmaları yapmaları olduğu söylenebilir. Ayrıca, yabancı turistlere yönelik olarak, Türkiye'ye özgü ve kaliteli ürünlerin geliştirilmesi ve satışı, kazançlarını daha da yükseltecektir.…”