How to help the tourism sector overcome the Covid-19 crisis?
Lessons learned from the crisis helping prepare for the recovery
Last October, an international team of researchers has been working hard to help the tourism industry overcome the effects of the COVID-19 crisis and to prepare for the recovery. Despite certain difficulties, the project is progressing, as Tan Vo-Thanh, Associate Professor at Excelia's CERIIM (Centre of Research for Innovation and Intelligence in Management).
Let's put it in context: The New Aquitaine region has awarded you a grant of nearly €80,000 within the framework of a call for expressions of interest for this research project carried out with Taiwanese and Vietnamese partners, and La Rochelle University. Why these specific countries?
Tan Vo-Thanh : Taiwan and Vietnam were chosen from a scientific point of view, based on their strengths and weaknesses in managing the health crisis. It is the socio-cultural differences and the style of management that interest us in order to draw conclusions and find solutions. It wouldn't have been as productive to compare our neighbouring countries which are subject to the same administrative and legislative system as us.
Some examples of these differences?
Tan Vo-Thanh : In France, the ordering of vaccines has to follow a procedure that is imposed by the European Union. Vietnam and Taiwan do not have this constraint. In Vietnam, the wearing of masks was a way of life long before COVID-19, so the government did not need to impose it like in France. My impression is that the better your living conditions are, since the French health system is the best in the world, the less you worry about illness, telling yourself that you will be taken care of whatever happens. In less developed countries where the health care system is not free, people are more careful. This is important to take into account, if only from a communication point of view.
In what way is this research in tourism management innovative?
Tan Vo-Thanh : Few studies have focused on the personnel in the tourism sector, even though most of them are the ones on the front line and therefore directly affected. The aim is to identify the elements that should be put in place to ensure well-being and performance, in order to achieve greater resilience.
Have you encountered any difficulties?
Tan Vo-Thanh : I expected things to be complicated, but I didn't expect France to still be in lockdown today, something that can cause problems for the data collection phase as, in the hotel and tourism industry, staffing levels are low. Also, people are less responsive, less motivated and would perhaps prefer to talk about something else...
Are you still on schedule anyway?
Tan Vo-Thanh : Yes, of course! Even before submitting this project to the region, I wrote three academic papers that were published in top-tier journals and put online. The team is well aware that we need to speed up, and even if we are not obliged to publish before November 2022 (from the point of view of the New Aquitaine region), we would like to publish the results as quickly as possible. We recently recruited a research assistant, who joined us on 1st February to help with the project!
