UNIT 11 TOURISM DURING TROUBLED TIMES – CASE STUDIES

Structure

11.0 Objectives
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Understanding troubles in reference to Tourism Business
11.3 Case Study Method – Some Basics
11.4 Case Study - 26/11 Attacks
11.5 Case Study – Covid 19
11.6 Let Us Sum Up
11.7 Key Terms
11.8 Some Useful Books
11.9 Answers to Check Your Progress ‘Exercises’
11.10 Terminal Questions

11.0 OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you should be able to –

 Understand the interplay between tourism management and the negative events taking
place at national and international level.
 Develop an understanding of ‘Case Study’ as a learning tool
 Understand the background and effect of 26/11 attacks on travel operations.
 Understand the impact of Covid 19 on tourism performance at global level.
 Understand the behavioural changes among perspective travellers.
 Develop a pathway to restart tourism in post covid times.

11.1 INTRODUCTION

In previous unit we have learned about new age travel intermediaries and various
opportunities & challenges posed by technology in managing travel business. In this unit our
focus will be on management of travel business during troubled times. In order to have a
better understanding we shall be discussing two case studies. One is of 26/11 terrorist attacks
in Mumbai (India) and another being Covid-19 pandemic. The rationale behind choosing
theses case studies is former being the one related to Indian context in specific and latter
being the one having international ramifications.

Tourism in its simplest sense “being the journey undertaken by an individual or group of
individuals outside their place of usual residence for duration of more than 24 hours and for
purposes ranging from leisure, pleasure, business, education etc. except for the purpose of
permanent settlement & indulging in the earning activities at the place being visited” is prone
to any kind of adverse events taking place not only at the place of destination or origin but
also at places en-route as well at places not directly related with the tourism activity being
undertaken. We have numerous examples wherein the events taking place in one part of the
world have impacted the performance of tourism at global level. One of the reasons for this
hypersensitive nature of tourism is its reliance on the ‘perception’ of the people. The factor of
travelling ‘out of usual place of habitat’ in itself carries some amount of risk (though the risk
perception may differ from individual to individual) but once this inherent perceived risk gets
coupled with negative perception with regard to places en-route, place of destination or
significant threat of any nature (political, natural, medical etc.) in other parts of the world
then the tourism activity is highly likely to get affected. In the coming pages, we shall try to
understand the impact of selected negative events on performance of tourism and the ways
travel operations during and after the events were managed by travel organizations.

11.2 UNDERSTANDING TROUBLES IN REFERENCE TO TOURISM BUSINESS

___________________________________________________________________________

Business by its very definition is “investment in the face of risk and uncertainty for the
purpose of returns/profit.” Thus risk is an inherent part of any business with tourism being no
exception. ‘Trouble’ in context of business is any event/happening within the organization or
outside the organization which increases the ‘risk quotient’ of business or in other words
which amplifies the chances of getting negative returns or less than expected returns on the
investments made by promoters/owners of business. So, when we talk about troubles in
reference to tourism business we are essentially talking about the events which have the
potential to negatively affect people’s willingness or ability to travel , in other words the
events which lowers the return on investment in ‘tourism business’. As we know,
‘perception’ plays an important role in perspective tourist’s ‘decision to travel’ and further
‘choice of destination’ so anything that has the capability to negatively alter the ‘perception’
of perspective tourists with regard a specific destination or with regard to ‘travel’ at all will
fall within the purview of ‘trouble’ in context of tourism business. Troubles in case of
tourism business can be safely put into the below broad types.

A) Events taking place at origin

B) Events taking place at destination
C) Events taking place en-route from origin to destination.
D) Events taking place in any other part of world, excluding the origin, destination and
en-route places.
In addition to above, negative events affecting tourism can also be classified on the basis of
their nature, for example political, social, cultural, natural, medical, economic, terrorism etc.
Let us try to understand it with some examples.

 In June 2013, due to a mid-day cloud burst severe floods were caused in the Indian
state Uttrakhand’s Rudraprayag district which is famous for ‘Char Dham’ pilgrimage.
These floods severely affected not only the infrastructure at ‘Char Dham’ pilgrimage
route but also resulted in the immediate cancellation of tours booked. There were not
only the immediate cancellations but also the impact on future bookings, which can be
attributed to increased risk perception amongst perspective tourists.
 09/11 attacks on USA in the year 2001, also resulted in not only the immediate
cancellation of trips to and from USA but also it resulted in long terms impact on
global tourism on account of heightened risk perception and safety concerns among
perspective travellers.
 Huge economic recession of 2008 triggered fall of Lehman Brothers, affected tourism
at global levels. Increased economic risk and uncertainty perception amongst
populace across the globe resulted in severely affected global tourism.
 Medical emergencies in past like outbreak of EBOLA, SARS viruses also affected the
performance of tourism in not only the affected areas but also at global level.
  It is not hard to understand that political turmoil in a country like imposition of
national emergency or coup against an elected government are the events which
affects not only the tourism demand but also the tourism supply in the region.
 Negative socio-cultural events like marked hostility or discriminatory practices
against a specific group of people on account of religion, race, cast etc. also have the
negative bearing on tourism to and from the place under question.

As manager of travel agency/tour operator operations, one may face with one or more
situations similar to the ones stated above and deal with short notice cancellations, long
term demand issues as well as the operational hardships with regard to tourist already in
different phases of their travel (i.e. in transit, incoming, returning etc.). Therefore it is
important to learn some basis of managing travel operations during troubled times by
incorporating suitable case studies.

11.3 CASE STUDY METHOD – SOME BASICS

Before, we move to actual case studies, it will be better if we learn some basics about case
study method as a learning tool.

The noun ‘Case’ has two different meanings; one is more general i.e. an instance of a
particular situation or happening which can be related to any area like medical, business,
economic, psychological etc. for example ‘a case of mistaken identity’ has legal colours
attached to it. The other meaning is more specific to occurrence of a medical event like that
of a disease, for example 1000 case of EBOLA infection.

Now, ‘case study’ is an in-depth study of the ‘case’ under consideration, it deals with
gathering information on every aspect of the case, studying the information so gathered to
arrive at some generalized results and take away learning which can be used to manage
effectively, similar case situations in future. Case study as a learning method is quite popular
in the realms of psychology, education, social sciences, business & management. Like any
other learning method, “Case study method” too has its merits and de-merits. Case study
method is effective, builds the critical thinking capacity, mimics the real world for a more
immersed learning experience and helps students developing an effective framework for
making good quality decisions. Cases can be of various types such as –

- Finished cases based on hard facts, useful for developing analytical skills
- Unfinished and open ended cases, giving students enough rooms to develop their own
conjunctures & surmises, making suggestions and deriving conclusions.
- Fictional Cases, written by the teachers/educators with the needs of a particular
subject and students in mind.
- Real life cases, bases on the objective data available freely.

Case studies also have some inherent de-merits like their occasional inability to generalise the
results for a larger population, not clearly demonstrating the cause & effect equations, lack of
scientific rigor and probability of personal biases creeping in, thus sometimes making the
results unreliable.

Check Your Progress A

6. What is Tourism?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

7. What is Business?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

8. Explain risk in reference to business?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

9. How we can define a negative event in reference to tourism business?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

10. What can be various types of negative event with regard to tourism business, explain
with suitable examples?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

11. What is a case?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................
 12. What is case study method?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

13. What are various types of cases in ‘case study method’?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

14. What are the merits and de-merits of case study method?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

11.4 CASE STUDY - 26/11 ATTACKS

The Case –

India’s rich cultural and natural resources have always attracted tourists from across the globe
and there have been a steady rise in FTAs (Foreign Tourist Arrivals) barring some
exceptions. Events of domestic and international terrorism have their effect on FTAs in
India. Effects of domestic terrorism events like 25th Aug 2003 Mumbai bombings, 29th Oct
2005 Delhi blasts, 11th July 2006 Mumbai bombings, 25th Aug 2007 Hyderabad bombings
etc. resulted in short term but significant impact on FTAs as documented in the month wise
tourist arrival statistics compiled by Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.

The 26/11 attacks refer to the co-ordinated bombing and shooting attacks that took place in
Mumbai from 26th to 29th November 2008. On 26th November 2008, simultaneous terrorist
attacks were made on Leopold Café, Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel, CST Terminus, Cama
Hospital, The Oberoi Trident Hotel and Nariman House. Whilst the attacks on Leopold Café,
CST Terminus & Cama hospital were neutralised on the same day, attacks on Nariman House
and at The Oberoi Trident were contained on 28th November. Taj Mahal Palace & Tower
hotel could be freed on 29th November. In totality, these attacks resulted in loss of
approximately 160 lives and several hundred getting injured. A significant number of lives
lost comprised of foreign tourists, which can be for reason that primary targets of these
attacks were locations that were frequented by international tourists. More than incurring the
loss of lives and injury to the foreign tourists & civilians, the purpose of these attacks was to
dent Mumbai’s image as financial capital of the nation and India’s image as a tourist
destination.
The above case bags following questions for discussion –

A) Did the events under study count for trouble/crisis as far as tourism is considered?
B) What were the immediate operational issues being faced by the managers of travel
agencies and tour operators?
C) What were be the long term effects of the said attacks and what steps were taken by the
travel agencies and tour operators to mitigate the effects in long term?
D) What were the learning lessons in tour operations management arising out of the situation
under study?

If we look at the first question, the answer seems obvious, not only we have the data from
past events to corroborate our claim that terrorism events/terrorist activities have a negative
bearing on performance and management of travel operations, the said event can be safely
put under crisis/trouble situation as far as travel operations are concerned. More so the places
under attack were the most prominent locations of the city, very much frequented by
international tourists visiting Mumbai. Therefore, the 26/11 attacks created troubles during as
well as long terms after the happening for all concerned in the field of travel and tourism.

Coming at second question, since the attackers have targeted the most prominent hotels of
Mumbai with significant number of foreign tourists present inside, for all the travel
agencies/tour operators whose foreign or domestic clients were there in the targeted hotels at
the time of attacks, it become imperative to take immediate steps as follows.

a) Enumeration and information sharing – First of all, a list of all the clients who may be
present in the targeted hotels with proper details like check in and check out dates, number of
tourists, kind of rooms booked etc. was prepared immediately and shared with embassies and
local law enforcement agencies concerned in case of foreign tourists and to the family and
friends in case of domestic tourists. As a travel agent, it became very important to share as
much as possible details of the clients that may be inside the hotels under attack. More so,
this was one of the first attacks of its kind, so even the travel agencies took some time to take
stock of the situation.

b) Short term planning – Once the information with regard to clients possibly present in the
hotels under attack was compiled and provided, next step was to compile a list of clients who
were due to visit Mumbai or who were due to arrive in Mumbai on the day the attacks started
i.e. 26th Nov 2008 and during next fortnight.

c) Altering the itineraries – After the list of clients due to arrive or due to visit Mumbai
during next fortnight of the start of attacks was prepared, next daunting task was to re-arrange
their travel itineraries. For the clients who were due to land in Mumbai, majority of the
bookings got cancelled, so the immediate fall out of the attacks was late minute cancelled
travel packages. Mumbai being the second most popular international airport for tourists
arriving India (after Delhi), almost all the inbound as well as domestic and outbound tours
arriving/departing from Mumbai during next fortnight got cancelled.

e) Communication with overseas trade partners/FTOs – In case of inbound travel

agencies, majority of their business operates in B2B module i.e. there are foreign tour
operators which sells tour packages for India and their Indian counterparts act a destination
management organization. FTOs were in dire need of information with regard to their clients
so as to pass on the same to their friends and families there. Information needs to be clear,
without any delay and concrete. So, a 27x7 crisis management desk was established with
designated staff members to collate as much information as possible and to share the same
with the concerned FTOs on periodic intervals. Professionalism displayed by the staff in
collating and disseminating information was much appreciated by the FTOs.

Exemplary courage was displayed by the staff members of Taj Mahal hotel, wherein the staff
members risked their own life to save the lives of their guests. Indeed a number of Taj Mahal
hotel employees lost their lives while saving their guests. This exceptional display of loyalty
also attracted researchers from Howard Business School which conducted a study on the
human resource practices of Taj Group, so that the underpinnings for similar kind of
organizational loyalty can be found. During the attacks two most important pillars of tourism
and hospitality industry were at the forefront in managing the situation for their clients and
setting new standards of professional excellence.

As regards to long term impacts of these attacks, a look on India Tourism Statistics 2010,
compiled by Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India shows that the increasing trends in FTAs to
Indian since year 2003 saw a break in year 2009 and a decline of 2.2% in total number of
FTAs was witnessed. As against with 5.28 million FTAs in 2008, there had been 5.17 million
FTAs in year 2009, though this could not dampened the spirits of foreign tourists willing to
visit India for long, and year 2010 witnessed a YoY growth of 11.8%, which partially can be
attributed to the Common Wealth Games as well. A deeper look at month wise FTAs for the
years 2008 and 2009 showed that the real impact of these attacks was witnessed during the
first five months of 2009 i.e. from January 2009 till May 2009, in which the number of FTAs
showed declining trends as compared with same months of year 2008.

In the aftermath of these attacks, travel agencies/tour operators faced some tough questions
from their overseas business partners/FTOs with regard to safety & security of their clients
visiting India. Since these were the first such kind of attacks, it took a while for the Indian
tourism and hospitality industry to take a stock of the situation. However the response has
been quick and robust. Almost, all the star hotel chains invested heavily in security
arrangements at their hotels. Barricades, automatic barriers, x-ray machines for luggage
screening became the part of standard entry protocol for hotels. And the effect of all these
arrangements were visible in the second half of 2009 wherein there had been an increase in
number of FTAs as compare to last year. As regards to the learning lessons for travel
agencies and tour operator in terms of operations management, these attacks posed
unprecedented challenges in terms of last minute diversions, itinerary changes, booking
cancellations, demand fluctuations and negative perception. However, the response during
and after the attacks portrayed Indian tourism and hospitality industry in a resilient and
professional light. Whilst the hospitality industry invested heavily in safety and security
measure, tourism industry helped by way of propagating positive information, instilling faith
among FTOs with regard to safety and security of tourist visiting India.

These attacks were globally criticised for loss of innocent lives, global tourism bodies too
castigated the attacks on hotels and other prominent tourist locations. Global solidarity shown
in favour of Indian tourism and hospitality industry helped immensely in revival of FTAs in
post attack times.
Check Your Progress B

9 Write a small note on some of the terror attacks in India involving tourist attractions?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

10 Write a brief note on the happenings during 26/11 attacks?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

11 Explain the immediate steps taken by various travel agencies during the 26/11 attacks
in order to ensure the safety of their clients?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

12 As a ‘Manager – Operations’ of a travel agency what will be your course of action in

case of attacks similar to 26/11?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

13 Write a note on the long terms effects of 26/11 attacks on FTAs in India?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................
 ..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

14 As a ‘Marketing & Corporate Communications Executive’ of a large scale tourism

organization what should be your course of action to manage the image of India as a
tourist destination?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

15 Explain the role of media in perception management during negative events like that
of 26/11 attacks?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

11.5CASE STUDY – COVID 19

The Case –

Covid -19 refers to a respiratory disease caused by novel strain of Corona virus. The official
name “Covid-19” and “SARS-CoV-2” were issued by World Health Organization on 11th
Feb 2020. CO here stands for Corona, VI for virus and D for disease, 19 refers to year 2019
when its outbreak was given first official recognition in late 2019. The first public
announcement with regard to this disease was made as “pneumonia outbreak of unknown
cause” on 31st December 2019 by Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, China confirming
27 cases, by then. By 20th Jan 2020, China confirmed 04th death on account of coronavirus
and South Korea confirmed its first case, also human to human transmission was confirmed
by Chinese state TV. Over the next few days, the virus spread globally with initial cases
being reported in USA & Europe and China initiated the travel restrictions to/from Wuhan
city in order to control the spread of coronavirus. By end of January 2020, virus got spread to
many more nations and so do the travel restrictions. In India, on 30th Jan 2020, first case of
coronavirus was confirmed in a resident of Kerala’s Alappuzha district who had returned
from Wuhan, China. With cases being on rising trend, one day Public curfew was organized
on 22nd March 2020 followed by a complete lockdown of 2 weeks from 25th March till 14th
April 2020, which was extended further. Year 2020 was marked with unprecedented travel
restrictions at national and international levels. Travel being an integral part of tourism
activity, all these travel restrictions resulted in huge losses to tourism business. As per data
collected by United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), global FTAs (Foreign
Tourist Arrivals) showed an unprecedented decline of 74% on YoY basis. As against 1.5
billion arrivals in 2019, FTAs in 2020 declined to a mere 381 million. If this is to compare
with previous crisis events like SARS outbreak of 2003 and Global Economic Crisis of 2009,
this decline is steepest, as both of those crisis events resulted in a decline of less than 10%.
Global tourism stood back at the levels of 30 years ago. UNWTO has estimated an overall
loss of USD 1.3 trillion in international tourism receipts and USD 2 trillion in global GDP
which has placed at risk some 100-120 million jobs directly related to tourism.

Most of the tourism experts have predicted a time of 2.5 to 4 years for tourism activities to
return to pre-covid levels. Multiple factors like status of travel restrictions, pace of virus
containment, availability and efficiency of vaccines and other treatment options against
infection, status of economic environment at global and national levels, co-ordination
amongst various nations and pace of flight resumptions will decide the recovery period for
tourism activity to pre-covid levels.

Covid -19 has resulted in some behavioural changes amongst travellers, such as –

A) Preference to closer destinations – Before the onset of Covid-19’s second wave in India,
domestic tourism had showed the signs of recovery wherein ending months of 2020 &
January, February 2021 witnessed a significant recovery in domestic tourism, though the
same could not be sustained due to onset second wave in mid-March 2021. However, this
preference for destinations closer to home is going to stay for a longer period, as even after
the pandemic declines, people will be hesitant to travel far away locations and shall prefer
closer destinations.

B) Preference to open air experiences – With multiple studies confirming the viral spread
being low in open spaces, traveller’s choices are likely to be inclined towards natural & rural
destinations with road trips preferably in their own private vehicles.

C) Changed demographics – Younger segments are likely to drive the tourism demand for
near future. Mature and retirees are the travel segments which are likely to show slow
recovery on account of their health risks and medical concerns.

D) New Concerns – Health & safety measures and cancellation policy has emerged as new
concern areas for travellers. Due to volatility and unpredictability of pandemic situation,
travellers are asking for more liberal cancellation policies. As well as health and safety
measure during travel are also becoming important aspects of travel decisions.

E) Last Minute Bookings/Cancellations/Changes – This current pandemic situation has

made the already fast paced travel industry more dynamic and precipitous. Due to pandemic
related volatility of events and travel restrictions, travellers are also making and altering their
travel decisions at faster pace, thus creating challenges for the operational managers of travel
agencies and tour operators.
F) Responsible travel – Current pandemic situation has also made the travellers more
responsible in their conduct during travel and they are looking for more authentic and local
experiences with least possible negative impacts on the destination’s local environment. With
the origin of virus being tracked to man-nature conflicts, this has made the travellers more
sensitive to their activities and their interactions with natural environment at destinations.

Roadmap to revive tourism in post covid era – Historically, tourism has always bounced
back to new heights once the crisis is over, as was in case of SARS outbreak or economic
recession of 2008. Despite the fact that present Covid crisis has been unprecedented in its
impact by bringing the global tourism indicators to 1990s levels, there is no reason to believe
that tourism business will not bounce back this time. After learning the impact of Covid 19
on tourism, observing behavioural changes amongst travellers, we can try to chalk out a
roadmap to revive tourism once the current pandemic recedes.

A) Protecting the tourism enterprises – While we can be sure of recovery in tourism

business during post covid times, it is important that current business enterprises be protected
from an ir-recoverable collapse so that when tourism demand returns there is someone to
supply the services. It is the duty of central and state governments to assist the tourism
enterprises stay afloat by providing assistance in terms of postponement of dues such as
taxes, rents, insurance premiums etc., by providing direct financial and non-financial aids
such as collateral free loans, preferential interest rates or loans with easier re-payment terms.
It is important to understand “people/employees” are part & parcel of tourism product at any
destination and it will always be a cheaper option to retain a trained staff rather than hiring
and training a new staff when the business needs will be at peak. Many central governments
are putting in efforts to ease the effects of pandemic on tourism and hotel enterprises, for
example Egypt government has postponed the all dues and taxes on tourism and hotel
enterprises till the situation improves.

B) Building traveller confidence by putting in place new health and safety protocols –
Amongst the behavioural changes listed above we have mentioned that health and safety
concerns are now first priority for all potential travellers. Hence there is a requirement to
create confidence among perspective travellers by incorporating new protocols. This requires
careful analysis and redesigning of SOPs to instil confidence in perspective travellers. For
example, the check in/check out process at hotels can be automated further so that rather than
interacting with front office staff, guest can check in/check out by himself/herself. Though
the concept of contactless hotels is not entirely new and it has been in place at some locations
but in the changed circumstances the need of hour is to implement it more vigorously.
Another area can be boarding/de-boarding of tourists at airports/railway stations/coaches etc.
during group travel. There is need to put in place new SOPs, so as to minimise the contact
between group members as well as with service providers. It is only after these visible
changes in travel operations, perspective tourists will gain the confidence to convert their
travel wishes and desires into reality.

C) Strengthening the co-ordination and co-operation at various levels – Tourism is an

activity which does not operate in isolation, it requires co-ordination and co-operation
amongst various departments at multiple levels. In order to re-start the tourism effectively in
post covid times it is necessary that new mechanism should be developed to ensure the
require co-ordination and co-operation. At destination/local level tourism service providers
need to co-ordinate with local public health and medical authorities to ensure the protection
of tourists as well as native people. It is necessary that travel service providers/destination
management companies work hand in hand with local authorities and instead of focusing on
short term gains, their focus should be on long terms prospects of restarting tourism activity
in their area. Not only this, there is also need to further enhance the co-ordination between
national and state governments. Any imposition of VISA curbs, lockdown measures or travel
restrictions should be properly co-ordinated to have minimum possible impact on tourism
operations. Interstate and intrastate movements should be managed effectively while taking
care of public health exigencies. International tourism organizations like UNWTO need to
co-ordinate with various governments for easing/implementation of travel restrictions in a
way that has minimum possible impact on tourism.

D) Creating resilience – Current pandemic has once again exposed the vulnerability of
tourism business. While re-starting tourism operations, the focus should also be on creating
resilience in business operations. There should be alternate business modules, SOPs in place
to manage such adverse events in future. During current crisis, many hotels have tied up with
delivery partners to offer their speciality restaurant dishes in home delivery mode. There have
been transport operators who converted their fleets in medical vehicles thus not only getting
some operational income but also to be of some help in current troubled times. Suitable SOPs
for such type of arrangements need to be developed and should be kept ready for faster
implementation. Local communities and destination businesses primarily dependent on
income from tourism need to work on alternate source of incomes, so as to be better prepared
for future. Travel agencies and tour operators also need to work on up skilling their staff to be
better prepared for future uncertainties.

E) Innovation and digitalization of tourism systems – Use of digital technology in tourism

business has been constantly on rise and it should be one of the most important aspects of
reviving tourism in post covid times. Technological innovations and digitalization should be
embraced with more than ever pace to re-start the tourism. Technology can focus on new
management models for tourism business, creating new products and experiences which link
travellers with nature and promote safer travel. Digital technologies such as drones, remote
sensing satellites etc. can help in better monitoring and management of natural resources
essential for tourism.

F) Sustainability – Post covid tourism is also likely to pose new challenges in terms of extra
waste generation (of masks and other medical consumables), extra stress on already short
supplied resources like water, land etc. Therefore if the tourism after covid needs to be for
long terms then innovative sustainable practices need to be adopted. Natural systems already
under stress due to tourism activities can cave in abruptly on account of increased pressure on
them, thus need of hour is to adopt sustainable green practices in managing and operating
tourism business.

Check Your Progress C

7. Write a brief note of spread of covid – 19 and its impact on tourism business?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................
 ..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

8. Compare the impact of covid 19 on tourism business with previous crisis events like
SARS and economic recession of 2008?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

9. What are various behavioural changes amongst travellers on account of covid -19 ?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

10. What are the challenges posed by covid 19 in reference to sustainable tourism
operations?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

11. Write a note on technological innovations that can be relevant in post covid tourism
business?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................
 12. State some of the strategies that can be used to restart tourism in post covid times?

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

11.6 LET US SUM UP

Tourism in its simplest sense “being the journey undertaken by an individual or group of
individuals outside their place of usual residence for duration of more than 24 hours and for
purposes ranging from leisure, pleasure, business, education etc. except for the purpose of
permanent settlement & indulging in the earning activities at the place being visited” is prone
to any kind of adverse events taking place not only at the place of destination or origin but
also at places en-route as well at places not directly related with the tourism activity being
undertaken. We have numerous examples wherein the events taking place in one part of the
world have impacted the performance of tourism at global level. One of the reasons for this
hypersensitive nature of tourism is its reliance on the ‘perception’ of the people. The factor of
travelling out of usual place of habitat in itself carries some amount of risk (though the risk
perception may differ from individual to individual) but once this inherent perceived risk gets
coupled with negative perception with regard to places en-route, place of destination or
significant threat of any nature (political, natural, medical etc.)

Troubles in case of tourism business can be safely put into the below broad types.

 Events taking place at origin

 Events taking place at destination
 Events taking place en-route from origin to destination.
 Events taking place in any other part of world, excluding the origin, destination and
en-route.
The noun ‘Case’ has two different meanings; one is more general i.e. an instance of a
particular situation or happening which can be related to any area like medical, business,
economic, psychological etc. for example ‘a case of mistaken identity’ has legal colours
attached to it. The other meaning is more specific to occurrence of a medical event like that
of a disease, for example 1000 case of EBOLA infection. Cases can be of various types such
as –

- Finished cases based on hard facts, useful for developing analytical skills
- Unfinished and open ended cases, giving students enough rooms to develop their own
conjunctures & surmises, making suggestions and deriving conclusions.
- Fictional Cases, written by the teachers/educators with the needs of a particular
subject and students in mind.
- Real life cases, bases on the objective data available freely

Events of domestic and international terrorism have their effect on the FTAs in India. Effects
of domestic terrorism events like 25th Aug 2003 Mumbai bombings, 29th Oct 2005 Delhi
blasts, 11th July 2006 Mumbai bombings, 25th Aug 2007 Hyderabad bombings etc. resulted in
short term but significant impact on FTAs as documented in the month wise tourist arrival
statistics compiled by Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India. The 26/11 attacks refer to the co-
ordinated bombing and shooting attacks that took place in Mumbai from 26th to 29th
November 2008. During the attacks, main steps taken by the travel agents were –

a) Enumeration and information sharing

b) Short term planning on itinerary changes
c) Altering travel plans
d) Communication with FTOs

Covid -19 refers to a respiratory disease caused by novel strain of Corona virus. The official
name “Covid-19” and “SARS-CoV-2” were issued by World Health Organization on 11th
Feb 2020. CO here stands for Corona, VI for virus and D for disease, 19 refers to year 2019
when its outbreak was given first official recognition in late 2019. The first public
announcement with regard to this disease was made as “pneumonia outbreak of unknown
cause” on 31st December 2019 by Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, China confirming
27 cases, by then. As per data collected by United Nations World Tourism Organization
(UNWTO), global FTAs (Foreign Tourist Arrivals) showed an unprecedented decline of 74%
on YoY basis. As against 1.5 billion arrivals in 2019, FTAs in 2020 declined to a mere 381
million. If this is to compare with previous crisis events like SARS outbreak of 2003 and
Global Economic Crisis of 2009, this decline is steepest, as both of those crisis events
resulted in a decline of less than 10%. Global tourism stood back at the levels of 30 years
ago. UNWTO has estimated an overall loss of USD 1.3 trillion in international tourism
receipts and USD 2 trillion in global GDP which has placed at risk some 100-120 million
jobs directly related to tourism. Covid -19 has resulted in some behavioural changes amongst
travellers, such as –
A) Preference to closer destinations
B) Preference to open air experiences
C) Changes demographics
D) New concerns
E) Last minute changes
F) Responsible travel.

11.7 KEY WORDS

___________________________________________________________________________

Tourism - is the journey undertaken by an individual or group of individuals outside their

place of usual residence for duration of more than 24 hours and for purposes ranging from
leisure, pleasure, business, education etc. except for the purpose of permanent settlement &
indulging in the earning activities at the place being visited.

‘Case’ has two different meanings; one is more general i.e. an instance of a particular
situation or happening which can be related to any area like medical, business, economic,
psychological etc. for example ‘a case of mistaken identity’ has legal colours attached to it.
The other meaning is more specific to occurrence of a medical event like that of a disease, for
example 1000 case of EBOLA infection.
Covid -19 refers to a respiratory disease caused by novel strain of Corona virus. The official
name “Covid-19” and “SARS-CoV-2” were issued by World Health Organization on 11th
Feb 2020. CO here stands for Corona, VI for virus and D for disease, 19 refers to year 2019
when its outbreak was given first official recognition in late 2019

11.8 SOME USEFUL BOOKS

- India tourism statistics 2010

- UNWTO Reports on tourism 2020 & 2021
- International Tourist Arrivals in India, Impact of Mumbai 26/11 Terror Attacks by
Sangeetha Gunasekar,Rojalin Patri & Badri Narayanan in Foreign Trade Review, 53 (I)- 17,
2018 Sage Publications.

11.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your Progress A

1. Refer to Sec 11.1
2. Refer to Sec 11.2
3. Refer to Sec 11.2
4. Refer to Sec 11.2
5. Refer to Sec 11.2
6. Refer to Sec 11.3
7. Refer to Sec 11.3
8. Refer to Sec 11.3
9. Refer to Sec 11.3

Check Your Progress B

1. Refer to Sec 11.4
2. Refer to Sec 11.4
3. Refer to Sec 11.4
4. Refer to Sec 11.4
5. Refer to Sec 11.4

Check Your Progress C

1. Refer to Sec 11.5
2. Refer to Sec 11.5
3. Refer to Sec 11.5
4. Refer to Sec 11.5
5. Refer to Sec 11.5

11.10 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. What are trouble events with reference to tourism business, explain with suitable
examples?
2. What is a case? What are various types of cases in ‘case study’ method?
3. Write a detailed note on impact of 26/11 attacks on tourism in India?
4. What is covid-19 and how does it has affected tourism?
5. Write a note on way forward for tourism in post covid times?