Challenges Faced by Hospitality, Leisure and Travel Industry during COVID-19

This report analyzes the challenges faced by the hospitality, leisure, and travel industry due to COVID-19, including rising expenses, impact on job opportunities, technology, and low occupancy. It also provides recommendations to overcome these challenges.

Business management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
TASK ..............................................................................................................................................3
The challenges faced by hospitality, leisure and travel industry during COVID 19..................3
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERNCES:..................................................................................................................................7
Books and Journals:....................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Hospitality industry comes under the most versatile sector into huge business environment. This
sector is known for providing best services related with accommodations, food and beverages,
leisure, resorts and entertainment. The industry is taking rapid rise due to rising urge in people
for travel to eliminate stress and anxiety by feeling the beauty of nature and environment.
Therefore, tourists are the main source of earning for hospitality sector ad require to maintain
necessary facilities to make them satisfied. In the current time, the impact of Covid-19 become a
major threat for the growth of this industry(Algassim, and Abuelhassan, 2021). Due to several
restrictions and ban on tourist place, hotels, leisure and travel agencies and resorts could not
welcome outsiders and promote their profitability. This report is going to analyse various
challenges related with hospitality, leisure and travel industry with the cause of Covid-19. The
industry is well known for contributing in economy GDP, reducing inflation, marinating cash
flows and fulfilling local and international Custer requirements. As travel become a necessary
part of every individual journey which has now impacting on hotels. This report is going to
talk about challenges faced by many different hospitality and travel sectors by acknowledging
their rise in income, expenditure and total contribution made during Covid-19. In addition to
this, the report will carry out significant challenges and recommendation on overcoming with
these hurdles by reoccurring best practices to leave challenges behind and welcome business
opportunities at first place.
MAIN BODY
TASK
The challenges faced by hospitality, leisure and travel industry during COVID 19
Rise in expenses
It is one of the main challenges for hospitality, Leisure and travel industries. It is obvious that
these sectors are restricting of tourist arrivals but the internal operations are still in performance
which consist expenses, operating cost, management and other work related cost. These
expenses are rising more than their profitability due to less arrival of guest. Also, with the effect
of Covid-19, travels and tourist places must need to maintain proper precaution and a healthy
lifestyle in order to provoke hygienic facilities. These extra amenities lead to rise in expenses of

many hotels and resorts. At the time of lock down, hotels need to continuously pay to rents,
salary and wages which are fixed expenses over unpredicted income. This become challenge to
survive in this competitive market for many small or new start-ups. Losses and expenses are
extremely on rise as in travel industry, due to shortage of guest of tourist they need to charge
double prices to cover their expense through which customers does not get money growth
satisfaction. The hotels require high operating cost even In this shortage(Bae, and Chang,
2021). Hotels like Haytor, Ivy bank in UK are constantly getting affected with rising cost at the
time of economic crises and inflation. These hotels took 10% rise in internal as well as external
expenses which must be dealt by reducing wastage in food, beverages and transportation cost.
Minimizing internal cost and finding a right move will be beneficial for company to evaluate
existing growth.
Impact on job opportunities
in current pandemic and times of economic crises, organisation mainly in hospitality industry
which was previously known for providing maximum job opportunities to contribute in GDP
and reduce poverty and disguised unemployment. but now, the industry itself facing losses and
less requirement of employees. As they need to pay salary and wages whether hotel attain
profitability of not. Due to this challenge, b the industry is not being able to contribute for
society welfare. The other challenge is about health concerns which many individuals facing
during the time of Covid-19. This has impact on employees health who may get diagnosed by
coronavirus. Through this, an effective employees would not work in such condition due to
which hotel surfers opportunity cost. The hotels and travel agencies has to terminate their
employees due to shortage of profits to pay salaries and incentive (Disimulacion, 2020). This is
the major challenge as it creates negative image of hotel into market, there has been seen a lot
of cases where employees does not get pays at the time of lock-down and suffers with out of
money to pay for hospitals and daily essentials. It shows how well the hotels maintain their
workforce welfare in such crucial time. Many oversees workers remain unemployed for longer as
there is not work opportunities left into hotels, leisure and travel industry. People stopped
travelling which seems useless to market and advertise hotel brands so that, marketing,
prompting and human resources departments has suffered great loss in finding jobs.
Technology

It is also a great challenge for these industry to adapt technology irrespective of labour intensive
technique to carry out operations and maintain a competitive position into market. Due to the
cause of Covid-19, hotels and travel agencies need to ascertain utmost safety and security and
follow all the guidelines of social distancing, the industry hardly focusing on employees
effectiveness rather need to be depend on technology (Patel, and Kulkarni, 2020). It is not easy
to get catch with new techniques and software which is the most challenging task for mangers to
hire professional experts who could manage digital and E-commerce. It become fundamental for
organisation well-being to assure new and updated technology by providing safest check points
and promote digital payments, social distancing, cleaning tools and equipments. These new up
gradations lead to increase in expenses and maintenance cost for hotels. Therefore, in the time of
Covid-19 crises, taking advantages of opportunities will be quite risky and hotels may bear
uncertainties and losses by not effectively work with technology. It will boost work potential and
effectiveness will result in great profitability mainly for leisure and travel industry where,
customers come with many doubts and get depends on convenient services during transportation
and findings best accommodations through their journey. It would create positive impact on
hospitality sector to entertain customers with best technology which would also contribute in
making the countries developed and prepared for future competition (Roth-Cohen, and Lahav,
2021). The more hotels will ascertain right use of technology into fuller utilising manner, the
more they will attract customers and gain economic advantage. It will reduce the impact on
macro business environment which will helps in overcoming with the challenges of Covid-19.
Low Occupancy
hospitality industry is not consistent in making sales and selling product and service at regular
basis. The hotels, travels and leisure facilities are taking growth mainly in on -season
requirements. In off-season, there are minimum customer arrival. For that instance, in the recent
era of 2019-2020, these hospitality sectors are going downwards in trend due to restriction on
travel so that, these sectors taking 20% reduction in travel and stays. Due to this reason, they
attain low occupancy in this sector due to seasonal requirements (Perić, Dramićanin, and Conić,
2021). Covid-19 has become a threat for overall world which cause fear of life threatening
disease. There was a time when hospitality sector has covered large occupancy rate of customers
engagement and their retention but now, this sector Is facing huge challenge in order to take
the first mover advantage once people recover with the diseases. It has estimated that, 50% of

hospitality and travel sectors has to ban customer arrival form different parts of the world.
Therefore, it is required to maintain the regular flow of sales to occupancy visitors at first place
(Ratten, 2020). Due to rising competition, every hotels try to reduce their prices, increase
facilities like early check in check out, additional amenities and other offers to acquire high
occupancy as soon as pandemic gets end.
CONCLUSION
The report ha majorly analysed the key challenges and its impact on hospitality, leisure and
travel industry. It has seen that, these industries known for contributing in rising economic
condition in a positive way but now facing the consequences of Covid-19. Therefore, it has
evaluated that Covid-19 protocols and preventive measures require additional cost and fixed
expenditure to maintain broad operations of hotels and travel agencies. The umber shoes 20%
decline in occupancy rate of the industry which is not beneficial for the sector into log run. The
rising inflations and economic crises has lower down the income level of consumer due to which,
they are unable to make contribution in employee welfare, society well being as the industry
facing challenge of fulfilling job opportunities, technological advancement and rise in
expenditure. So that, it is recommended to make proper strategies and regulation to attract
customers as soon as travel activities gets started. Mainly hotels need to ascertain proper health
and safety and provide a safe accommodation which is the main necessity during this time.
Therefore, the growth of these industry will get balance through eliminating wastage and
promoting sustainability by mainly focusing on quality rather than just show-off.

REFERNCES:
Books and Journals:
Algassim, A.A. and Abuelhassan, A.E., 2021. The Effect of COVID-19 on potential tourist's
consumption behavior: Evidence from GCC countries. Journal of Association of Arab
Universities for Tourism and Hospitality, 20(1), pp.129-144.
Bae, S.Y. and Chang, P.J., 2021. The effect of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) risk
perception on behavioural intention towards ‘untact’tourism in South Korea during the
first wave of the pandemic (March 2020). Current Issues in Tourism, 24(7), pp.1017-
1035.
Disimulacion, M.A.T., 2020. MICE tourism during Covid-19 and future directions for the new
normal. Asia Pacific International Events Management Journal, 1(2), pp.11-17.
Patel, J. and Kulkarni, V., 2020. Covid-19: issues faced by hospitality industry. Dego Rangsang
Research Journal, 10(6), pp.28-32.
Perić, G., Dramićanin, S. and Conić, M., 2021. The impact of Serbian tourists' risk perception on
their travel intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. European Journal of Tourism
Research, 27, pp.2705-2705.
Ratten, V., 2020. Coronavirus (Covid-19) and entrepreneurship: cultural, lifestyle and societal
changes. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies.
Roth-Cohen, O. and Lahav, T., 2021. Cruising to nowhere: Covid-19 crisis discourse in cruise
tourism Facebook groups. Current Issues in Tourism, pp.1-17.