SURVIVAL STRATEGIES OF TOURISM INDUSTRY IN TIMES OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A STUDY OF SELECTED TOURIST ENTERPRISES IN KERALA

Abstract

Struggling to come out of the shackles created by the apparent down in business owing to the decline in booking and travel trips, tourism enterprises have been forced to implement newer survival strategies to exist in the field. This paper sheds some light on the novel and innovative survival strategies adopted by selected tourism operators and hotels in certain selected tourist spots in Kerala. The study considers four types of survival strategies for analysis viz. Retrenchment, Persevering, Innovation and Exit. The study has found that the type of strategies adopted by the enterprises varies in accordance with their nature of business. Most of the enterprises preferred to adopt a persevering survival strategy that is they tended to continue their operations without applying any significant decline in their scale of operation. The study has found significant associations between the number of years spent in the field of operation and the type of strategies adopted for survival. It has been found that younger enterprises tended to adopt an ‘exit’ survival strategy while experienced and older enterprises stood for persevering strategy.