EFFECTS OF THE CORONAVIRUS ON THE TOURISM SECTOR IN CHILE

In recent years, the development of tourism in the world showed a favorable evolution, both in tourist arrivals, as well as in income, employment, and diversification of the hotel offerings, among other indicators. In the case of Chile, 2019 became the scene of a social outbreak, the effects of which on tourism caused a sharp reduction in the number of international tourist arrivals and generated an overall sense of insecurity for internal travelers. In this context, the authorities and entrepreneurs in the tourism sector were preparing to take on the challenge. Their idea was to promote an intense advertising campaign aimed at recovering demand. The objective of this article is to analyze the scenario facing the tourism sector in Chile based on the situation generated by the coronavirus and to identify some key challenges that the sector will have to face to overcome it by taking into account the factors that triggered the social conflict in the first place. To analyze the evolution of the Chilean situation, firstly, a descriptive methodology is applied to clearly identify the evolution of the situation during the first months of 2020 in Chile. Secondly, the epa (Events Protest Analysis) method is applied to analyze press publications. Regarding the visible impact of the pandemic, there is a 99,7% drop in tourist arrivals compared to August 2019 and a 45,2% drop in the employment of accommodation and food service personnel (Deputy Secretary of Tourism, 2020). Likewise, collective protest actions, unprecedented in the country, were observed in which negative attitudes toward visiting tourists were displayed by the local communities in towns that had registered few cases of coronavirus. This situation presents a complex challenge for tourist destinations and will require new research efforts in the tourism sector to generate knowledge and planning instruments that help to face the increasingly frequent crises.

Perceptions and expectations in the university students from adaptation to the virtual teaching triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: Confinement has fostered the debate on digitalization and virtual teaching. The objective is to expose the disadvantages of the telematic education system adopted during the quarantine on subjects like equal opportunities, well-being and satisfaction, and teaching quality;focusing on the university education level and taking into account the management of communications with the students. Methodology: Two surveys, both distributed by online means, were conducted on university students, one at the beginning of the confinement (n: 1612), and another in the examination period (n: 872). Results: 90% of students prefer face-to-face teaching and 80% consider that their university has not adapted adequately. Most believe that they will learn less, that their academic record will be affected, and that they will have more difficulties while finding a job. More than a half of the students have suffered close experiences related to coronavirus and they feel a lack of understanding on the university side. Conclusions: Universities have shown a poor institutional communication performance during the pandemic, both in communication with students and in listening to them.