Tourism firms have been severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis as a result of lockdowns and strict health regulations imposed by national authorities (Kreiner & Ram, 2020). As the tourism industry has started to gradually reopen, tourism firms have been applying a wide array of responses, ranging from compliance with health measures to innovating their services, adopting new technologies and searching for new customer segments (Alonso et al., 2020). Some studies have addressed firms’ resilience and begun identifying the strategies adopted by tourism and hospitality firms to cope with the COVID-19 crisis (Breier et al., 2021; Kaushal & Srivastava, 2020; Lai & Wong, 2020). However, evidence about the effects of different types of responses on firm performance is still lacking. This study aims to provide a first assessment of the effects of three groups of responses to the COVID-19 crisis – marketing, cost cutting and organizational changes – on customer loyalty and economic performance. In particular, this study proposes a model employing partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) using a sample of agritourism firms.
Firms’ responses to the COVID-19 crisis in the tourism industry: effects on customer loyalty and economic performance
Cassia, Fabio
2022-01-01
Abstract
Tourism firms have been severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis as a result of lockdowns and strict health regulations imposed by national authorities (Kreiner & Ram, 2020). As the tourism industry has started to gradually reopen, tourism firms have been applying a wide array of responses, ranging from compliance with health measures to innovating their services, adopting new technologies and searching for new customer segments (Alonso et al., 2020). Some studies have addressed firms’ resilience and begun identifying the strategies adopted by tourism and hospitality firms to cope with the COVID-19 crisis (Breier et al., 2021; Kaushal & Srivastava, 2020; Lai & Wong, 2020). However, evidence about the effects of different types of responses on firm performance is still lacking. This study aims to provide a first assessment of the effects of three groups of responses to the COVID-19 crisis – marketing, cost cutting and organizational changes – on customer loyalty and economic performance. In particular, this study proposes a model employing partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) using a sample of agritourism firms.
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