Safety and Health Measures for COVID-19 Transition Period in the Hotel Industry in Spain

Rafael Robina-Ramírez, Jose-Amelio Medina-Merodio, Libertad Moreno-Luna, Héctor V. Jiménez-Naranjo and Marcelo Sánchez-Oro
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Rafael Robina-Ramírez: Department of Business and Sociology, Universidad de Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, Spain
Jose-Amelio Medina-Merodio: Department of Computering Science, Universidad de Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Spain
Libertad Moreno-Luna: Department of Business and Sociology, Universidad de Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, Spain
Héctor V. Jiménez-Naranjo: Department of Finance and Accounting, Universidad de Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, Spain
Marcelo Sánchez-Oro: Department of Business and Sociology, Universidad de Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 2, 1-19

Abstract: The health crisis caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 disease has devastated the worldwide hospitality sector. The current situation has led many countries to implement drastic rules to stop the spread of the virus. According to the Spanish health authority decisions need to be made in the context of uncertainty and lack of knowledgeable experiences through a gradual and asymmetric de-escalation process planned in four phases. Although the vast majority of studies refer to economic risks and impacts on tourist flows and economic income, few of them explicitly investigates safety and health measures that hotel managers should implement to their customers. Over a population of 12,740 hotels, 823 Spanish hotel managers have been involved in a participatory study. With the aim of assessing the actions taken to stop the spread of the virus, empirical research was implemented. A model presented four variables and 13 indicators which have been previously tested among hotel managers in the tourism sector. Five conclusions are drawn from the hypotheses: (1) Mass testing surveillance in customers and employees should be quick, affordable, and homogeneous throughout the European Union. (2) Training measures need to be taken by both public authorities and the private sector to reach a knowledgeable crisis management team with high commitment to the customer’s health and safety. (3) Protocols established by public authorities should be observed and adjusted gradually not only in hotels but also in tourist arrivals. (4) Healthy measures need to be periodically updated. (5) Each hotel should set up a surveillance process to guarantee the safety to their customers.

Keywords: COVID-19; tourism industry; transition period; health authorities; pandemic; hotel managers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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