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Continued innovation beyond COVID-19 crisis: toward mitigating the challenges in the tourism and hospitality industry


Citation

Ramachandran, Sridar and Ugokwe, Chizoba Kingsley and Latiff, Khairunnisak and Ibrahim, Mohd Romzee (2024) Continued innovation beyond COVID-19 crisis: toward mitigating the challenges in the tourism and hospitality industry. Journal of Tourism Futures. pp. 1-36. ISSN 2055-5911

Abstract

Purpose: This paper aims to provide insights into service innovation (SI) during the COVID-19 crisis and its potential impact on tourism development in the medium-to-long term. The pandemic had a devastating effect on the industry, requiring immediate mitigation. It is yet to fully establish the impact of SI in the face of the COVID-19 volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). This study discusses the potential link between SI and COVID-19 crisis mitigation and offers recommendations for tourism recovery. Design/methodology/approach: This paper synthesizes empirical evidence on post-crisis tourism SI using a theory-based general literature review approach. Findings: COVID-19 crisis spun various forms of SI, which emerged as a conventional solution to crisis prevention, encompassing the management of crisis-time competitiveness, revenue deficits and risk perception. However, resistance to innovative services is linked to situational conditions. Research limitations/implications: COVID-19 is an unprecedented crisis. Therefore, this study serves as a primer for further inquiry into SI. For instance, areas such as governance in tourism innovation and consumers' inclination toward innovation-driven services are underexplored. Practical implications: SI acts as a situational facilitator, but its characteristics can impede or facilitate adoption. Moreover, the irrelevance of innovations in some environments is evidenced. Thus, practitioners must adopt a responsive learning approach in SI adoption. To mitigate the COVID-19 impacts, reconfiguration in SI, recovery marketing strategy, knowledge gap and governance will be critical interventions. Originality/value: This paper is one of the first comprehensive discussions on the potential role of SI in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on the THI. © 2024, Sridar Ramachandran, Chizoba Kingsley Ugokwe, Khairunnisak Latiff and Mohd Romzee Ibrahim.


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Additional Metadata

Item Type: Article
Divisions: School of Business and Economics
DOI Number: https://doi.org/10.1108/jtf-10-2023-0221
Publisher: Emerald
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; Perceived risk; Service innovation; Tourism future; Tourism recovery; Travel behavior
Depositing User: Ms. Nuraida Ibrahim
Date Deposited: 30 May 2025 02:28
Last Modified: 30 May 2025 02:28
Altmetrics: http://www.altmetric.com/details.php?domain=psasir.upm.edu.my&doi=10.1108/jtf-10-2023-0221
URI: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117581
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