Assessing COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on the UK Travel and Tourism Sector

This essay explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK's travel and tourism industry. It details how the pandemic, with its associated lockdowns and travel restrictions, has severely affected the industry, leading to significant financial losses and job cuts. The essay also highlights the industry's response, including adapting hotels for emergency services and supporting stranded nationals. It further suggests recovery strategies such as innovative marketing, enhanced sanitation measures, and government collaboration. The analysis incorporates data on passenger traffic and government support, providing a comprehensive overview of the challenges and potential pathways for the UK tourism sector to recover from the crisis. Desklib offers a wide range of academic resources, including solved assignments and study tools, to support students in their academic endeavors.

Academic Writing for Business and
Management

Impact of Covid19 pandemic on the travel and tourism industry of UK
Academic skills in the context of business and management is very important for
attaining success and growth. It is quite essential that individual must possess an ability to
extract, evaluate and retrieve relevant information in regards with any business or
management issue. Further, individuals must also comprehend and execute good academic
practices and must be able to avoid academic malpractice. Considering this, the main aim of
the current essay is to explore the business issue that is Covid19 pandemic and its influence
on the travel and tourism industry of UK. The focus of the essay is on exploring the ways in
which this issue has impacted the industry and how this sector is reacting the worldwide
crisis. The final part of the essay will throw light on the ways the UK tourism industry could
recover and come out of this crisis. Talking about the issue being faced by the business and
living things all across the world that is Covid19 pandemic, it is one of the deadliest
infectious disease being caused by coronavirus (Cohen, 2020). The virus can spread from one
person to another and might result in their death or serious illness. Further, the disease has not
only resulted in to deaths of millions of people rather it has also developed abrupt alteration
in the day to day lives of all people within a short period of time. It has adversely impacted
the economy across the globe and resulted into widespread terror. For avoiding the spread of
virus, government of different nations have implemented strict regulations, lockdowns and
restricted movements. This has majorly impacted many businesses particularly the travel and
tourism industry.
For the tourism industry, this might be considered as a nightmarish journey right from
the beginning of the year 2020, because the whole globe was in to the mode of lockdown.
Covid19 restrictions have resulted into grounded of flights, stand still of cities and stoppage
of trains and public transport, and even all hotels, restaurants, pubs, and café were shuttered
down. At the end of the year 2020, still there was not confirmation regarding the availability
of the vaccine and no one was aware about the time this disease will continue with its deathly
dance. Social distancing became a new mantra for all and masks and gloves also became a
daily ware for people. Most of the people chose to remain inside their house due to safety
purpose and were all reluctant to plan a holiday (Pardo and Ladeiras, 2020). Overall, it can be
said that a fear of touching a stranger is disturbing the minds of people across the world. Even
a fear of getting infected and spreading it to near and dear ones, fear related to death and
unknown has gripped the globe significantly. Further, the constant feeling of fear is an
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emotion which will not going to leave in short period of time rather it will take long time and
till that time the travel and tourism industry is more in the offing to continue in the dumps.
Out of all the impacted industries in the global pandemic of Covid19, tourism industry
appeared to be impacted hardly throughout the world. Because of this, the other related
sectors were also affected badly for example, transportation services, tour operators, travel
agencies and so forth. As per the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTCC), the current
issue of Covdi19 will more likely to cost quite high to this industry and that is around USD
22 billion and it will also going to incur a loss of around fifty million jobs all throughout the
world. Thus, it not surprising to say that tourism in UK will witness an important decline
after the end of Covid19. Speaking in volume about the tourism industry of United Kingdom,
it has a great success stories. In the year 2019, there are around 41 million inbound tourists
and in the year 2020, the domestic overnight trips in England was observed to hit 100 million
(Sigala, 2020). Travel and tourism industry in UK is being regarded as the major catalysts for
growth, trade, service export and creator of employment throughout the length as well as
breadth of the nation. Furthermore, this sector is also considered as a major element of the
privileged soft power ranking of Britain. In other words, it can be said that tourism displays
the superlative Britain to the world.
Tourism industry was keen to build legacy of success in the year 2020 as well
however the covid19 pandemic had some different plans. This sector was hit hard by the
outbreak of this disease. It is not exaggeration to contemplate that covid19 has symbolized
the most difficult era for the industry in its history. In comparison to the levels of 2019, there
were around 90 percent of inbound flights arrival were down. Furthermore, the occupancy of
the hotels was lower than the normal figures and the whole sector was totally closed for the
minimum of 6 to 12 months. Because of the closing of the borders due to lockdown
throughout the countries, overseas travel were standstill and companies focused on only
domestic travels. Even the business travels were decreased and there were no global events
and large gatherings. Owing to the fear of getting infected and spreading of the infection
particularly impacting the young and older people, the group and leisure travels were also
completely stopped.
It is along these lines obvious that information from the Office for National Statistics
shows the biggest monetary constrictions in the administrations area over 2020 were all
pieces of the travel industry such as air, oceanic, travel planners, convenience, rail and
diversion, nor is it astonishing that travel industry has been the area most dependent on the
exceptional bundle of help measures of public authority, for example, the furlough scheme
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(Rogerson and Rogerson, 2021). In excess of £25 billion has been given to the recreation, the
travel industry and hospitality area throughout the span of the pandemic. Be that as it may,
the pandemic has likewise featured the amount being owe by the industry of 1.7 million
individuals straightforwardly utilized by the travel industry in the UK majorly from the
hoteliers and Bed and Breakfast proprietors to the local escorts and travel planners and
around 4 million are employed in the area in general
Figure 1: Domestic and international air passenger traffic
(Office of National statistics, 2021).
Figures being collected from the Civil Aviation Authority reflects about the manners
in which the international passenger traffic at the airports of UK was decreased to 1.9 percent
for the month of February 2020 as compared to the levels in April. It recovered again in the
month of August to 36.7 percent prior decreasing once more in reaction to the augmentation
in the restrictions. Similarly, passenger traffic in case of the domestic travel also followed the
same pattern. However the decreasing pace is quite slower than the international passenger
traffic after the peak in the month of August due to imposition of more international
restrictions. Particularly, there are majorly two kinds of passenger traffic which have
functioned in the same manner in the year 2020 as compared to their levels in the month of
February 2020, though in the year 2019 the traffic related to international passenger was
more cyclical (The Tourism Recovery Plan, 2021).
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Speaking on the other side, this pandemic has also impacted positively on the travel
and tourism industry of Britain. Be that it may be, it is wandering in the street of world class
cities, enjoying the culinary scene, exploration of countryside and relishing the heritage offer,
taking holidays or vacation can support the health as well as well-being of public in Britain.
This pandemic has helped the country in connecting public and societies with the rich culture,
natural environment and heritage and ha also motivated the civic pride. In addition to this,
this sector has responded quite well in reactions being unfolded by this covid19 pandemic.
Hotels were willing to open doors to rough sleepers as well as victims of domestic violence
and repatriate UK nationals which are stuck in abroad, to convert their event venues into
vaccination centres and Nightingale hospitals. Thus overall it can be concluded that travel
and tourism industry of UK has been hit hard by the issue of covid19 pandemic and there are
many things which needs to be done for helping the sector to recover from this crisis. Some
revival strategies are being recommended to the travel and tourism sector which can help
them in coming out from this disaster (Collins-Kreiner and Ram, 2021). Firstly, it is
important that hotels and restaurants owners must pay emphasis on innovative marketing
communication for developing confidence in the probable travellers that their properties are
safe and secure. Additionally, attention is required to be made on sanitisation and cleanliness
for evince interest. Secondly, it is also important that the hotel owners must come up with
attractive schemes and offers for pulling the guests and augmenting their occupancy level.
Finally, working in collaboration with the government and other bodies for implementing the
recovering plan successfully.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Cohen, M.J., 2020. Does the COVID-10 outbreak mark the onset of a sustainable
consumption transition? Sustainability, Science, Politics and Policy, 16(1), pp.1–3.
Collins-Kreiner, N. and Ram, Y., 2021. National tourism strategies during the COVID-19
pandemic. Annals of Tourism Research, 89(C), pp.103076.
Pardo, C. and Ladeiras, A., 2020. COVID-19 “tourism in flight mode”: a lost opportunity to
rethink tourism – Towards a more sustainable and inclusive society. Worldwide
Hospitality Tourism Themes, 12(6), pp.671–678.
Rogerson, C.M. and Rogerson, J.M., 2021. COVID-19 and changing tourism demand:
research review and policy implications for South Africa. African Journal of
Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 10(1), pp.1–21.
Sigala, M., 2020. Tourism and COVID-19: impacts and implications for resetting industry
and research. Journal of Business Research, 117, pp.312–321.
Online references
Office of National statistics. 2021. Coronavirus and the impact on the UK travel and tourism
industry. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/tourismindustry/articles/
coronavirusandtheimpactontheuktravelandtourismindustry/2021-02-15#demand-for-
travel-and-tourism-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic>. [Accessed on 3rdMarch 2022].
The Tourism Recovery Plan. 2021. [Online]. Available through:
<https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/
attachment_data/file/992974/Tourism_Recovery_Plan__Web_Accessible_.pdf>.
[Accessed on 3rdMarch 2022].
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