Evaluating COVID-19's Impact on Ecolodges: A Trafalgar UK Study

This research project examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ecolodge sector in the UK, specifically focusing on the Trafalgar Tours company. The introduction provides background on the adverse effects of the pandemic and the increasing preference for nature-based tourism, particularly the role of ecolodges. The aim is to evaluate these impacts, with objectives including exploring ecolodges' roles in economic improvement and sustainability, measuring the pandemic's intensity, and recommending ways to mitigate negative impacts. The research questions address the role of ecolodges in sustainability, the pandemic's intensity on Trafalgar Tours, and recommendations for reducing environmental impact. The literature review covers the roles of ecolodges in improving economic conditions and enhancing sustainability, as well as the impact of COVID-19 on ecolodges in the UK hospitality sector. The methodology involves data analysis to determine the effects of COVID-19, and the conclusion and recommendations provide strategies for sustainability and future resilience. The project also includes a questionnaire in the appendix.

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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travellers because it provides memorable experience to the tourists as well as impacts the
environment positively.
Furthermore, Movono and Hughes (2020), also analysed that after the situation became
normal, the Ecolodge have started taking the booking for the tourists for the present as well as
coming time. During the pandemic, all the hotels, restaurants, public places were closed which
bounded the people to stay. But as soon as the situation became somewhat normal as compared
to before, the people started preferring to go to such places and stay where they cannot harm the
environment directly or indirectly. This increased the demand for the ecolodge across the
countries in the world. The tours and travels company also suggest the travellers to go to the
ecolodge especially at the time of pandemic because all the facilities provided and everything at
the place will help in contributing towards the environment. This will also give the opportunity
to the people to love in the lap of nature and spends a beautiful time there.
Therefore, the authors Anastasiadou and et.al., (2018), examined that the trend for the
ecolodge among the travellers and the guests is enhancing day by day which will not only helps
in improving the environment but also will benefit the ecolodge in the hospitality industry and
the tours and travels company like Trafalgar financially. This also increased the awareness of the
people towards the environment otherwise before the pandemic the people more preferred the
luxurious hotels for the tourism and never thought about the impact which it had on the
environment. The ecolodge provides the tourists and the guests a safe, self catered place to stay
without the fear of the transmission of virus because the ecolodge are quite clean and free from
al the infections and germs.
Furthermore, the above points were also supported by Bear and et.al., (2020), the cost
and investment which is made for the ecolodge and ecotourism are lesser as compared to the
conventional pleasure and leisure tourism and also the country and the people were not
economically stable at the time of pandemic of COVID-19 so this also attracted the tourists to
the different ecolodge. By staying in the ecolodge, they can plan the holiday trips in budget and
also can find this more enjoyable and gratifying. The tourists also do not ask for the high-end
luxury at these places. These trips can be enjoyed as adventurous holidays and also within the
limited expenses. The tourists sometimes carry the backpacks, tents and make use of the green
transport which helps in reducing the cost of the trip.
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On the contradictory note, Legrand and et.al., (2020), argued that the locations of these
ecolodge are very far which requires the appropriate mode of transport. This is why there is a lot
of emission of gases from the transportation which impacts the environment negatively. There is
a demand for the green travel but it is not implemented fully by the ecotourism destinations.
Also, the tourists enjoying in the lap of nature cause destruction to the natural habitats which
lead to the loss of the valuable species. Many species also become endangered which is due to
the sound pollution in building the ecolodge and the other activities of tourism aggravating the
destruction.
This is how; the impact of COVID-19 can be critically evaluated on the ecolodge in the
hospitality industry of UK.
Research Methodology
Research Methodology basically includes the specific techniques and procedures which
are used for identifying, selecting, processing and analysing the information about any topic.
This helps in critically evaluating the overall reliability and validity of the research. This mainly
analyses the ways in which data is collected or generated and the ways in which it is analysed
(Mic, 2017). This helps in designing the outline of the study or research for ensuring that the
results are reliable and valid which helps in addressing the objectives and aim of the research
which is the effect of the pandemic on the ecolodge in UK.
Research type: This describes the type of the study which is done during the research. This is
divided into two types i.e., qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative type of data helps in
analysing and evaluating the words, meaning and behaviours whereas the quantitative data deals
with numbers and statistics. The qualitative study helps in doing in-depth study of the research
problem and answers the hypothesis. The quantitative study will help in allowing the researcher
for scaling the research by providing the sets of dat. The researcher will therefore make use of
both the types of data for achieving the objectivity. This will help in gaining in-depth insight
about the effect which the pandemic has on the ecolodge in UK.
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Research philosophy: It is basically a belief regarding the way in which data is gathered,
analysed and used. There are basically two philosophies namely positivism and interpretivism.
The positivism philosophy is used when the research type is qualitative while interpretivism is
used when the qualitative research type is used. The positivists on one side prefer using the
quantitative methods like the official statistics, questionnaires, structured interviews, social
surveys etc., the interpretivists use the qualitative methods like participants observations,
personal documents, unstructured interviews etc. The researcher made use of both the
philosophies interpretivism and positivism because the type of research used was both qualitative
and quantitative and also the objectives of this research which is to analyse the impact of
pandemic on the ecolodge of UK can be achieved by using both the philosophies.
Research Approach: These are the procedures and plans for the research which deals in
spanning the steps from the broad assumptions to the detailed methods of collecting and
analysing the data along with making interpretations from them. There are basically two types of
research approaches which are referred as inductive and deductive. Inductive approach is used
when there is no theory at the initial level to be tested and the theory is developed at the last
while the deductive theory focuses on testing the existing theories. The inductive approach
prefers moving from specific observations to broad generalisations while the deductive approach
does the opposite (Tadesse and Teketay, 2018). The researcher uses the inductive approach as
there is no theory which can be tested regarding the impact of pandemic on the ecolodge but the
theory needs to be developed after doing the complete research. This will follow the process
starting from doing observations followed by observing the pattern and then developing a theory.
Research Design: The design of research deals in the overall strategies which are chosen for
integrating the different study components in logical and coherent way. Also it ensures that the
research problem is addressed systematically, unambiguously and logically. This also deals in
the techniques and methods which are chosen by the researcher. There are various types of
research design such as experimental, descriptive, correlational, explanatory and diagnostic. The
researcher uses the descriptive research design which will solely deal in describing the situation
or the study topic under the research (Mafi, Pratt and Trupp, 2020). This is basically a theory
based design method which is developed by collecting, evaluating and presenting the data which
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is gathered. It helps in better understanding the need of the research. The problem was clear
which is why the descriptive design is used by the researcher in order to gain in-depth insight of
the effect of COVID-19 on the ecolodge in UK.
Data Collection: This is the process of collecting and measuring the information or the data in
very established manner and fashion which helps in enabling to answer the research questions
and also to evaluate the outcomes. There are mainly 2 methods for collecting the data which are
primary and secondary. Primary data collection is the process in which researcher collects the
data from main sources while on the other hand the secondary data collection is collecting the
data which has been already collected and is available to the researcher. Primary data is collected
through various primary sources like observations, experiments, surveys, questionnaires,
interviews and the focus groups while the secondary data is collected through secondary sources
like books, journals, research papers, articles, blogs and the web pages (Kalen, 2020). The
researcher made use of both types of data collection methods primary and secondary to gain the
views of the other authors regarding the topic and presented them critically in the form of
literature review and also the primary sources of data collection which is the questionnaire which
will be given to the managers of Trafalgar tours company in order to gain their views regarding
the effect of COVID-19 on the ecolodge.
Sampling: This is basically the process in which a group is selected from whom the actual data
is collected for the research. This is basically of two types which includes probabilistic and non-
probabilistic sampling. The probabilistic sampling is the one which includes the random
selection from the group while the non-probabilistic sampling is the one in which a particular
criteria is set for choosing the respondents. These are then divided into various sub categories
like random sampling etc. The researcher makes use of random sampling of non-probabilistic
type in which the criteria is to select only the members of the company which is why the
researcher chose 30 managers of the Trafalgar tours company for participating in the
questionnaire and become the respondents. This will help in gaining the opinions and experience
of the managers regarding the effect which COVID-19 has on the ecolodge (Steward, 2017).
Data analysis
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This process deals in analysing the data systematically by applying the logical and
statistical techniques for illustrating, describing, condensing, recapping and evaluating the data.
These are various ways in which data collected through various sources can be analysed among
which the two major ways are thematic and SPSS. Thematic analysis is used to analyse
especially the qualitative data and also applied in the set of texts such as the interview
transcripts. The data is examined and then various themes are formed to describe the data
collected and presenting it in the form of graphs, pie charts, pictorial representations etc. This
helps in analysing the data in simplified and attractive manner. On the other hand, SPSS tools are
used to analyse the complicated statistical data. There is no complicated statistical data in the
research which is why the researcher uses the thematic analysis to analyse the qualitative data
and the easier numerical data (Gohar and Kondolf, 2020). This flexible method will be used to
make significant interpretations and the optimal outcomes.
DATA ANALYSIS and FINDINGS
Theme 1: Change in the tourist’s choices during and after the pandemic of COVID-19.
Have you observed the change in the choices of the
tourists during and post COVID-19?
Particulars
Yes 22
No 8
Total 30
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Interpretation: It was observed from the above pictorial representation that majority of the
respondents i.e., 73% of the total respondents believed that the choices of the tourists changed
during the pandemic as well as after the pandemic. Only 8 respondents believed that the
pandemic did not change the choice of the tourists. It was also highlighted in the literature
review that the tourists all over the world were scared to travel to other places because of the fear
of virus and also the government had imposed restrictions on travelling which changed the
choices of the tourists from leisure travel at luxury hotels to sustainable travel at ecolodge.
Theme 2: Impact of pandemic of COVID-19 on the company’s overall profitability.
The pandemic of COVID-19 has affected the overall
profitability of the company?
Particulars
Strongly agree 20
Agree 5
Neutral 2
Disagree 2
Strongly disagree 1
Total 30
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