CW1 Research Proposal

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Nov 24, 2024

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1 Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on UK Hospitality & Leisure Sector Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Institution Course Due Date

2 Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on UK Hospitality & Leisure Sector 1. Introduction 1.1 Project Aims One of the most devastating pandemics the world has ever experienced was the COVID- 19 pandemic. As an infectious disease, COVID-19 is believed to be caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Mostly, people infected with the virus start experiencing mild to moderate respiratory illnesses, like colds and flu. Recovering from COVID-19 does not require special treatment; however, some people may become seriously ill and require medical attention (Greenhalgh et al., 2020). The risk of contracting COVID-19 is high because anyone can get sick with this disease, transfer the virus, become seriously ill or die at any age. Nevertheless, older people and those with underlying medical conditions are more likely at risk of developing serious illnesses (Xu et al., 2020). In the last two years, the implications of this deadly disease have been felt globally, significantly changing how individuals live, work, and socialize and how different sectors and businesses function. This research proposal intends to fulfil the following: 1) To assess the quantifiable effects COVID-19 has on the hospitality and leisure sector in the UK and how it affected the people that work directly and indirectly in this industry. 2) To investigate the present state of the hospitality and leisure sector since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. 3) To critically review the strategies and measures put in place by the government to ensure the hospitality and leisure industry in the UK did not rupture.

3 1.2 Research Questions The study regarding the effects of the pandemic on the leisure and hospitality sector revolves around the following research questions: 1) What implications did the COVID-19 pandemic have on the livelihoods, jobs, mental health, and ways of working of the people that directly and indirectly work in the hospitality and leisure sector in the UK? 2) How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect hospitality and leisure businesses' capacity to remain operational, pay the necessary bills, pay staff, and retain employees? 3) What were the effects of COVID-19 restrictions put in place by the UK government on the hospitality and leisure sector? 1.3 Research Objectives The study on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the leisure and hospitality sector revolves around the following research objectives: 1) Analyze the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to understand the state of the hospitality and leisure sector in the UK before and after the pandemic. 2) Determine the gross loss of employment, the increased number of businesses going into administration, and how they managed to remain operational before and after the pandemic. 3) Examine the new ways organizations carry out their operations and how they interact with their customers, as some are currently working remotely. 1.4 Scope and Justification This specific research study will be significant for business sectors in the hospitality and leisure sector because it could be used as a tool when making corporate decisions, strategizing,

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4 and planning how industries can operate during and after a pandemic. While the global pandemic affected almost all organizations, the hospitality and leisure sector suffered massively. Although there were opportunities presented to these sectors, the diversity of the crisis and its impacts on employees, consumers, and organizational operations are unmatched compared to other crises before. Hence, while previous research findings might be beneficial, this study is likely to generate in-depth knowledge into how industries should transform their operations based on the needs of consumers after a pandemic. 2. Literature Review This section focuses on reviewing past literature such as journals, magazines, academic research papers, online information sources, and articles in assessing the impact of COVID-19 on the UK’s hospitality and leisure sector. This study aims to contribute new knowledge to existing research on the global changes in the hospitality and leisure sector through practical and theoretical information to be gathered in the project from hospitality theories and practice. Presently, the COVID-19 impacts are still experienced by people and businesses globally, and there is a need to adjust and acclimate to the new reality of living with non-curable COVID- 19 (Donthu & Gustafsson, 2020). The hospitality and leisure sector in the UK encountered repercussions almost immediately due to lockdowns and government restrictions. The impact of pandemic continues to affect the accommodation and food businesses both in the UK and globally due to fear of the spread and contracting the virus during interactions at leisure facilities. Since the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic, there have been massive cancellations and postponements of sports leagues, conventions, conferences, and events. Consequently, there were limited travel and tourism for pleasure and business in the UK due to restrictions and lockdown in most states.

5 Piga et al. (2021) reported that news of the emergence of COVID-19 resulted in cancellations of hotel reservations amounting to billions of losses. Most hotels and leisure facilities had to seek approximately 150 billion US loans to refund bookings and other related losses. Cancellations of bookings consequently affected hotels operations leading to massive job loss to those, directly and indirectly, who worked in the hospitality industry in the UK and the world at large. COVID-19 impacts have caused problems in the UK’s hospitality and leisure sector because most employers cannot keep their businesses afloat or pay bills such as salaries. Similar to the decline in tourism and hotel activities in other regions, the UK's hospitality sector has shut down restaurants because of the inability to pay water bills, power and salaries (Nhamo et al., 2020). As witnessed in the UK, there are massive layoffs and slashing of employees’ salaries by over 30% to cater for other bills. According to Huang et al. (2020), the hotels and leisure global sector experienced nearly 50% closure of restaurants due to low demand for hospitality services. Most reservation declines were acclimated to fear of contracting the virus in the leisure facilities. Huang et al. (2020) explain that most accommodation facilities were not well-equipped to handle tourists with COVID-19, resulting in government intervention through lockdowns and bans until the hotels and leisure facilities were safe for guests. The impact of COVID-19 is still felt in the UK’s hotel and leisure sector because the virus continues to surge worldwide. Revenues per available room have reduced as there are quarantines and travel restrictions in some parts of the world. The UK’s tourism sector is yet to recover from the losses experienced in the past two years (Kaushal & Srivastava, 2021). The hotel and leisure sector are advised to maximize other revenue-generating activities with the ban lift on hotel reservations, flight suspensions, mass gatherings and international travel.

6 Compulsory COVID-19 vaccination of hotel staff and tourists has guaranteed safety in the leisure sector. 3. Methodology This section analyses the research methodology employed in the study. It focuses on the research design, method, approach, and data collection. According to Fram (2014), the research design is the basis of various techniques, and methods researchers select when conducting a study. The chosen design aids researchers in improving their research methods. The researcher in this study seeks to implement exploratory research. As this is a qualitative study, the main emphasis is comprehending the underlying impacts. The study will examine the fundamental aspects of the pandemic influencing the leisure and hospitality sector in the UK. In this case, the significance of using an experimental design is to heighten compliance and suppleness to use the available resources and time, laying a foundation for future research in the hospitality and leisure sector. Additionally, the success of any research depends on whether a researcher has used a deductive or inductive research approach. The deductive approach achieves the recommended research aims through hypothesis testing, while the inductive approach entails finding responses to the developed research questions (Heit & Rotello, 2010). Therefore, since the researcher aims to develop a theory, inductive reasoning will be a good fit for the study. The focus will entail moving from particular observations and generating broader simplifications by assessing the current trends and relating them to concepts and theories to recognize the impacts of the pandemic on the hospitality and leisure sector in the UK. Data collection in this study will entail gathering, assessing, and evaluating various information using authenticated techniques. Luna-Reyes & Andersen (2003) argue that the main

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7 emphasis when collecting data in any research should be to gather reliable and rich information, analyze it, and make it fit the intended need. Usually, two methods of data collection are used: primary and secondary data collection. The former entails data gathered straight from the key source that has never been applicable anywhere, while the latter involves data already gathered by another person. With secondary data it is clear, inexpensive, and easier to amass and use because of its accessibility. Thus, this study will collect data from libraries and internet sources. Credible sources like research articles and journals, online databases such as Cochrane Library, and PubMed, which offers easier access to MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL Plus, suitable for covering literature-based texts, will be vital in this study. 4. Ethical Considerations Issues about using secondary data are connected with the likely harm to individual subjects and concerns or acquiring consent. Secondary information differs based on the amount of information identified and the type of information acquired (Kanuka & Anderson, 2007). If the data employed by a researcher is unique, lacks identifying information, or is correctly coded, then the ethical board does not necessarily have to be involved. Since the data is freely accessible through the internet and other online materials, the researcher has sought approval to use and analyse it further. More so, the researcher has acknowledged the ownership of the original information, ensuring that it is pertinent, adequate, and not in excess. Besides, the researcher acknowledges that data appraisal is completed for some criteria like accuracy, period the data was collected, main purpose, and methodology used.

8 References Donthu, N., & Gustafsson, A. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 on business and research. Journal of Business Research , 117 , 284-289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.06.008 Fram, S. (2014). When to use what research design. International Journal of Social Research Methodology , 17 (3), 322-324. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2014.917890 Greenhalgh, T., Knight, M., A’Court, C., Buxton, M., & Husain, L. (2020). Management of post- acute COVID-19 in primary care. BMJ , m3026. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m3026 Heit, E., & Rotello, C. M. (2010). Relations between inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition , 36 (3), 805-812. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018784 Huang, A., Makridis, C., Baker, M., Medeiros, M., & Guo, Z. (2020). Understanding the impact of COVID-19 intervention policies on the hospitality labor market. International Journal of Hospitality Management , 91 , 102660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102660 Kanuka, H., & Anderson, T. (2007). Ethical issues in qualitative E-learning research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods , 6 (2), 20-39. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690700600204 Kaushal, V., & Srivastava, S. (2021). Hospitality and tourism industry amid COVID-19 pandemic: Perspectives on challenges and learnings from India. International Journal of Hospitality Management , 92 , 102707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102707 Luna-Reyes, L. F., & Andersen, D. L. (2003). Collecting and analyzing qualitative data for system dynamics: Methods and models. System Dynamics Review , 19 (4), 271-296. https://doi.org/10.1002/sdr.280

9 Nhamo, G., Dube, K., & Chikodzi, D. (2020). Restaurants and COVID-19: A focus on sustainability and recovery pathways. Counting the Cost of COVID-19 on the Global Tourism Industry , 205-224. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56231-1_9 Piga, C. A., Abrate, G., Viglia, G., & De Canio, F. (2021). How the hospitality industry reacts to COVID-19: Structural, managerial and tactical factors. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management , 21 (5), 503-516. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41272-021-00359-2 Xu, L., Mao, Y., & Chen, G. (2020). Risk factors for 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID- 19) patients progressing to critical illness: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Aging , 12 (12), 12410-12421. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.103383

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