Revitalising Indian tourism : What does India need to become a top tourism destination? Lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis

COVID-19 has had a massive impact on the world's economy. Only a handful of economic sectors benefited from COVID-19 (e.g. streaming and videoconferencing). Other sectors recuperated relatively well after the strongest part of the crisis passed (e.g. textile and automotive). The tourism sector, instead, will still take some time to recuperate. It is because many different parts need to be in place for tourism as we knew it before the crisis goes back to normal. In 2019, the projections were 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals per year. The comparison between Europe and India would help in developing measures to reignite and re-launch tourism in India. In fact, before the crisis, India was getting less than 20 million foreign tourists per year. The number seems relatively low when compared to countries like China (more than 60 million foreign tourists), Spain, France and the USA (all three above 80 million arrivals), Malaysia (26 million), Thailand (38) and Japan (29). This research analyses the relatively low number of international arrivals in India using a multi-perspective approach. The analysis will allow us to make a series of suggestions that will help boost the tourism sector in India as the COVID-19 crisis fades away. © 2022 Jacques Bulchand-Gidumal.

Has COVID-19 influenced the perceived quality of service of hotels?

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the perceived quality of service by guests in the reopening process during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The authors analyzed 1,679 TripAdvisor reviews from 2019 and 2020 that were written for hotels in Gran Canaria, Spain. The authors compared the average rating for 2019 and 2020 and the authors performed a content analysis of the reviews. Findings: Guests perceived the quality of their stay to be worse during 2020, especially regarding food and beverage and staff behavior. The only service quality dimension that showed an improvement was related to open-air hotel installations. Research limitations/implications: The authors only analyzed reviews in one language. The authors were not able to determine if the lower ratings in 2020 were due to the way in which they perceived the quality of service or to the fact that the quality of service was objectively worse. Originality/value: This paper contributes to theory development in the field of hospitality management by providing new insights into how external events can influence hotel services and guests' perceptions. This research shows how a health crisis that is external to the tourism industry has caused an impact on hotel staff management and on how hotel staff behavior is perceived. However, it is also possible that regardless of anything managers do, the rating that a guest awards a hotel will be lower than it would have been before the pandemic. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Has COVID-19 influenced the perceived quality of service of hotels?

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the perceived quality of service by guests in the reopening process during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The authors analyzed 1,679 TripAdvisor reviews from 2019 and 2020 that were written for hotels in Gran Canaria, Spain. The authors compared the average rating for 2019 and 2020 and the authors performed a content analysis of the reviews. Findings: Guests perceived the quality of their stay to be worse during 2020, especially regarding food and beverage and staff behavior. The only service quality dimension that showed an improvement was related to open-air hotel installations. Research limitations/implications: The authors only analyzed reviews in one language. The authors were not able to determine if the lower ratings in 2020 were due to the way in which they perceived the quality of service or to the fact that the quality of service was objectively worse. Originality/value: This paper contributes to theory development in the field of hospitality management by providing new insights into how external events can influence hotel services and guests' perceptions. This research shows how a health crisis that is external to the tourism industry has caused an impact on hotel staff management and on how hotel staff behavior is perceived. However, it is also possible that regardless of anything managers do, the rating that a guest awards a hotel will be lower than it would have been before the pandemic. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.