Impacts of Covid-19 on Ecolodge in UK Hospitality Industry

RESEARCH PROJECT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Background..................................................................................................................................3
Aim & Objectives........................................................................................................................3
Research Questions......................................................................................................................4
Rationale......................................................................................................................................4
Significance.................................................................................................................................5
Literature review..............................................................................................................................5
Theme 1: Roles of ecolodge in improving the economic condition and enhancing the
sustainability in the hospitality sector of UK..............................................................................5
Theme 2: Impact of COVID-19 on the ecolodge in the hospitality companies of UK...............6
Research Methodology....................................................................................................................8
DATA ANALYSIS and FINDINGS.............................................................................................11
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS..........................................................................17
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................19
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................21
Questionnaire.............................................................................................................................21

Title: To discuss the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic on ecolodge in hospitality industry in UK. A
study on Trafalgar tours company.
INTRODUCTION
Background
The pandemic of COVID-19 has adversely affected every aspect of the life but when
everything was uncertain these days but the one thing which got improved was the love towards
nature. Though the pandemic was considered as the issue for humans as well as led to many
threats to animals and plants, but there was a thing which needs to be learned from the
pandemic. In this time of isolation, people are looking to go where they can spend some
peaceful time outside where they can live with nature as travelling and staying at hotels were
completely restricted. So for this at the time of pandemic, the Ecolodge are available for self-
catered, long term and exclusive bookings which even does not impact the environment in any
way negatively (Makopondo, Rotich and Kamau, 2020). This increased the customer base for
the ecolodge across many countries in the world which gives the experience of living with
nature and environment. Various new measures are implemented by the ecolodge for protecting
the health of the guests, employees and even benefit the environment. The research will be
based on the Trafalgar Company which is considered as the world leader regarding the travel
experiences. It helps in connecting the people across the world to real England in the most
amazing way (Trafalgar, 2021). The company strives hard to provide dynamic experience to
the travellers through historic villages, crumbling castles, vibrant cities, vibrant landscapes etc.
(Ingram, Caruana and McCabe, 2017). Trafalgar gave various options to the travellers
regarding the ecolodge so that in the pandemic also the company can maintain its customer
base and to impact the environment positively. This research will shed light on the impact of
pandemic of COVID-19 on the ecolodge in context with the Trafalgar Company in UK.
Aim & Objectives
Aim
To evaluate the impacts which Covid-19 pandemic has on the ecolodge in context of
Trafalgar tours company, UK.
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Objectives:
 To explore the roles of ecolodge in improving the economic condition and enhancing the
sustainability in the hospitality sector of UK.
 To measure the intensity to which the pandemic of Covid-19 affected the ecolodge in the
hospitality industry in context of Trafalgar Tours Company in UK.
 To recommend the ways in which he negative impacts can be reduced and the ecolodge
can become more sustainable.
Research Questions
 What is the role of ecolodge in increasing the sustainability and improving the economic
condition in the hospitality sector of UK?
 What is the intensity to which the pandemic of Covid-19 has affected the ecolodge in
context of Trafalgar Tours Company?
 What ways can be recommended so that the hospitality companies can reduce their
impact on the environment?
Rationale
The main rationale behind choosing this topic “To evaluate the effects which Covid-19
pandemic has on the ecolodge” for research was that the people became scared after facing the
pandemic of COVID-19 and more after realizing that this happened because of the carelessness
of the citizens of the country and their actions and activities which impacted the environment
negatively. The trend for travelling and staying in hotels foe spending the weekends or for the
business purposes is increasing day by day at rapid rate which also impacts the environment
negatively. So, this is the need for making the tourism and its practices sustainable so that the
increasing tourism and travelling can contribute towards the environment positively especially in
UK (Silva Gabriel and Jordana Perpiñá, 2020). As there are complete restrictions on the tourism
and movement from one place to other, the people became frustrated living in isolation at one
place for many months. There is a need to develop such system which can also fulfil the needs of
the people as well as impacting the environment positively. Ecolodge are the accommodations
for the tourist which are mainly designed for impacting the natural environment positively and
giving a memorable and dynamic experience by spending time in the lap of nature (Mugo,
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Visseren-Hamakers and van der Duim, 2020). The Trafalgar Company was chosen as the
company to be focussed because its priority is the well being of the tourists and the guests and it
helps in planning the trips for the people perfectly by ensuring sustainability especially at the
time of pandemic of COVID-19.
Significance
This research will help especially the Trafalgar Company as it will gain various
opportunities to plan the trip for the different ecolodge across different countries around the
world especially UK. It will also help the other companies to develop and implement the
sustainable strategies. This will also facilitate the stakeholders as this will create a sense of trust
among the stakeholders for the ecolodge across the countries in the world.
Literature review
Literature review helps in discussing about the published information in specific subject
or area along with evaluating various secondary sources. This is done by analysing various
books, journals, blogs, articles, research papers etc. Various themes will be formed according to
the objectives of the research which will help in segregating the whole area of study and making
the study narrow. The literature overview also helps in critically analysing the data which is
obtained from various sources like primary and secondary (Behnamshirazi, Alipour and
Ebadinezhad, 2019). The various themes which will be made will help in analysing the effect of
COVID-19 on the ecolodge especially regarding the hospitality companies in UK:
Theme 1: Roles of ecolodge in improving the economic condition and enhancing the
sustainability in the hospitality sector of UK
According to Simpson and et.al., (2020), ecolodge are basically the initiatives which lays
emphasis on to minimize the negative effect of the lodging on the environment along with
contributing positively to the conservation efforts or the local communities. They make use of
the renewable source of energy for providing power to the properties along with using the water
preservation and the energy efficient lighting. The author also evaluated that these
accommodations focus on recycling and reusing for impacting the environment positively. They
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make use of various initiatives including the natural cleaning products which are non-toxic,
organic towels, locally sourced foods and many more.
Furthermore, Ell and Pavelka (2020), also stated that anything in the hotel which can be
reused or washed for serving the guests along with helping to sustain the environment are sued in
the ecolodge which helps in increasing the sustainability of the country in which the company or
hotel is located. Ecolodge are also located in mainly the remote places such as beaches, jungles,
forested areas or the mountains. They make use of the natural environment and are solely
depended on the surrounding environment.
As per the view of Rawlins and et.al., (2020), the ecolodge not only provide benefits to
the environment but also to the local communities and the travellers which helps in hosting them.
In various situations, this also allows the local communities for remaining on their native land
without even taking away the natural resources from it. This not only contributes positively to
the environment but also benefits the communities economically for controlling the culture’s
future. This helps the guests for connecting with the natural environment as their focus is to
preserve the surrounding environment, bring awareness towards the nature and also to help in
conserving the wildlife. The locals and travellers both get the opportunities to learn about the
customs and traditions of each other.
Building blocks to the above points, Raub and Martin-Rios (2019), elaborated that in the
world of increased awareness towards environment and the mindful travel, the business owners
and the entrepreneurs from the world are preferring to incorporate the eco-friendly features and
the solutions to the business for minimizing the carbon footprint and raising the brand awareness
as well as providing greener options to the tourists. This helps in conserving the energy and
water savings which contributes in improving the sustainability of the hospitality industry and
the country in which it operates.
Theme 2: Impact of COVID-19 on the ecolodge in the hospitality companies of UK
According to Dobrescu and Mazilu (2020), COVID-19 has made the people realize about
the real value of nature and environment as this was believed that the pandemic is the result of
the actions of the humans which destroyed the environment. In this time of pandemic of COVID-
19, the tourism was completely restricted which is why the tourists and the guests did not get any
opportunity to plan a trip or go to some places. The ecolodge proved to be the best option for the
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