ABSTRACT
The restaurant industry contributed to the creation of wealth and employment until the end of 2019, when it reached maximum values. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, this sector suffered a very serious economic and employment crisis. The analysis of this situation is imperative to mitigate the consequences for the restaurant industry and to prevent impacts in future crises. The main purpose of the present study is to compare the years 2019 and 2020, analyzing the profitability, payroll costs, headcount, and indebtedness of the restaurants, to verify the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact in Spain and Portugal. Quantitative research was applied, where a descriptive analysis and hypothesis testing were conducted. SABI database was the secondary data source used in this research. The results show that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on profitability, efficiency, and indebtedness in the restaurant industry, being a generalized situation in both countries, in all regions except for Ceuta. The results also confirm the importance of this study for managers and academics since all the variables under study worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic. This study represents a contribution to managers and stakeholders in the restaurant sector by allowing the comparative evaluation of each restaurant with the average of the variables by location and the definition of proactive strategies. Practical implications are proposed to mitigate the effect not only of COVID-19 but also of other pandemics or economic crises that may arise in the future, preparing managers and stakeholders to adapt to change and promoting the financial sustainability of the restaurant industry. It is recommended to increase the disclosure of statistical indicators and financial ratios of free access, which allows the improvement of the analysis of different variables that are important for professionals in the restaurant industry. © 2022 by the authors.
ABSTRACT
Colombia is notorious for drug cartels and internal armed conflicts that have persisted in the country for more than 50 years. With the peace agreement signed in 2016 Colombia gradually became a country with strong tourism potential in Latin America. Supported by movie tourism and dark tourism, the influx of tourists to Colombia registered considerable increases. Colombia became a popular destination for recreation and beach stays, for adventure and experience tourism;and ecotourism has a dominant role related to the cultivation of coffee. However, Colombia presents natural risks and security risks that support the low level of peace and the low quality of life indicator as a tourism destination. The existence of a greater number of flights and low-cost booking systems, allows to increase interest in new non-traditional places, avoiding mass tourism, which can be an advantage for many travel agencies in the Czech and Portuguese markets that seek authentic and relatively unknown places. Despite the threat of the pandemic COVID-19, tourist packages to Colombia were analysed. Considering the main objective of the study, to assess the perception of security in Colombia, a questionnaire was carried out to identify the risks associated with this destination. To allow a comparison of the perception of safety with the Global Safety index, the responses of 206 potential tourists, 103 from Portugal and 103 from the Czech Republic, were selected. The results show that the destination Colombia is perceived as more dangerous by potential tourists than by actual tourists who have visited it and perceive it as much safer and more attractive. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.