Sinking houseboats and swaying home stays: community resilience and local impacts of COVID-19 in managing tourism crisis in Kerala
- Title
- Sinking houseboats and swaying home stays: community resilience and local impacts of COVID-19 in managing tourism crisis in Kerala
- Creator
- Varghese B.; Chennattuserry J.C.; Kureethara J.V.
- Description
- Purpose: The tourism sector of the state of Kerala in India is highly vulnerable and has been extensively impacted by the global pandemic disaster. This paper aims to analyze the impact of COVID-19 (Corona virus pandemic) on houseboat operators and homestay managers. Design/methodology/approach: This paper indicates a multi-stakeholder assessment method to examine various pandemic disaster facets through a structured discussion with different destination stakeholders. This study examines qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews from homestay owners, houseboat operators and government designators in Kerala. This study proposes a conceptual community resilience competency framework that could facilitate speedy crisis management responses. In this study, the sample comprises of nine respondents who play a pivotal role in the travel business, comprising the public sector, private sector, NGO's and community leaders. Findings: The qualitative findings identify Indias and the state of Kerala's roles in handling crisis management scenarios over internal strategies and strategy formulation. The results indicate that the supplementary industry practitioners explore tactical and strategic management initiatives to sustain their businesses. The dynamics of stakeholder engagement adopted by the state is given prominence. Originality/value: This study suggests mechanisms to re-establish the brand image and the possible strategies and suggestions that could help in the survival of the Kerala tourism industry in the post-disaster period. The new normal has been substantiated in the study by incorporating strategies and precautionary methods adopted by the homestay and houseboat operators so as to address the guests' safety concerns. 2021, International Tourism Studies Association.
- Source
- International Journal of Tourism Cities, Vol-8, No. 4, pp. 805-819.
- Date
- 2022-01-01
- Publisher
- Emerald Publishing
- Subject
- Business continuity plan; Community resilience; Crisis management; Destination management theory; Disaster management
- Coverage
- Varghese B., Department of Tourism Studies, Christ University, Bangalore, India; Chennattuserry J.C., Department of International Studies, Political Science and History, Christ University, Bangalore, India; Kureethara J.V., Department of Mathematics, Christ University, Bangalore, India
- Rights
- Restricted Access
- Relation
- ISSN: 20565607
- Format
- Online
- Language
- English
- Type
- Article
Collection
Citation
Varghese B.; Chennattuserry J.C.; Kureethara J.V., “Sinking houseboats and swaying home stays: community resilience and local impacts of COVID-19 in managing tourism crisis in Kerala,” CHRIST (Deemed To Be University) Institutional Repository, accessed February 25, 2025, https://archives.christuniversity.in/items/show/14752.