Few industries have been as hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as hospitality and tourism. Having served the industry for more than four decades, the SHTM is now proud to be at the forefront of research supporting the industry's timely and sustainable recovery.
Leading the way is Dean and Chair Professor Kaye Chon, Walter and Wendy Kwok Family Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management, whose ongoing research will
offer invaluable recommendations for managing the pandemic and boosting tourism in post-COVID-19 mainland China.
Complementing these insights, a study by Associate Dean and Chair Professor Haiyan Song, Mr and Mrs Chan Chak Fu Professor in International Tourism, will help to reduce the social costs of tourism during and after the pandemic.
In another ongoing study, Professor Bob McKercher is delving into the social unrest that led to the collapse of Hong Kong's tourism sector.
"What started as a cobra has turned into a python," he explains, as the coronavirus has effectively brought global tourism to a standstill.
Looking further afield, Dr Mehmet Koseoglu considers how COVID-19 has impacted the performance of hotels in Saudi Arabia and Thailand. Top managers' decision making is an important channel, he explains, and entertainment firms and airlines may be more seriously affected by the crisis than restaurants and hotels.
Decisions on managing revenue
may be among the most critical for hospitality and tourism firms in times of crisis. Based on interviews with 26 revenue directors, Dr Basak Denizci Guillet is currently seeking to understand how and to what extent revenue management can be implemented when demand is lacking.
Meanwhile, Dr Yi Wang and Dr Mimi Li are exploring creative approaches to crisis recovery in rural areas, which are often the hardest hit. Such recovery may happen sooner, suggest Dr Lawrence Fong and Professor Rob
Law, if residents are satisfied with the government's crisis management.
To restore tourists' confidence in the post-COVID-19 era, their psychological needs must be met, warns Dr Catherine Cheung. Her research will help destination managers provide much-needed stress relief for travellers affected by COVID-19. Focusing on US tourists, a huge market for the region, Dr Jinsoo Lee and SHTM doctoral student Mr Noppadol Manosuthi are exploring how international travel will develop once
COVID-19 is under control.
Hospitality employees are just as important as travellers to the future of the sector. Dr Maxime Wang is interested in how CEO messages in terms of both taking pay cuts and emotion regulation strategies, along with organisational contingency decisions in areas such as staff furloughs, influence employees' own emotions and ultimately their work-related behaviour.
The messages conveyed by companies are also central to ongoing research conducted by Dr
Daniel Leung, who hopes to understand how leading hospitality and tourism firms develop and deploy communication strategies in times of crisis.
There is hope on the horizon, and the SHTM is striving tirelessly to realise it.
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