Abstract
The world as we knew it has changed forever as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourist service providers had to adjust their services to the mandatory changes imposed by authorities' regulations and consistently with the demand of service users. This chapter focuses on detecting those potentially lasting changes and mark the new parameters in the tourism sector. The qualitative research chosen consisted of in-depth interviews with hotel and restaurant managers in the tourism industry of the four provinces of Galicia (Northwest Spain). Based on the theoretical review, the first conclusion is that, although tourism has been affected many times, whether by pandemics, economic crises, or even terrorist attacks, it is an industry that bounces back quickly and so far, regardless of the magnitude of the events that have affected it, always goes back to its previous level. In that regard, the answers obtained in the empirical part of the study show a great passivity in the industry. The supply has not made, nor do they foresee any structural changes to address the changes in the demand.
TopBackground
Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism accounted for 10% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employed 20% of the economically active population; in Spain in particular, tourism accounted for 12% of GDP and employed 12.7% of the economically active population (Bauzá & Melgosa, 2020), with revenues reaching 71,200 million euros in 2019 (Ortega, 2021). In Galicia, tourism represented 10.4% of GDP and provided 11% of the jobs in 2019 (Expansión, 2020). Almost one third (1.4 million) of the total number of tourists received by Galicia that year were foreign (Faro de Vigo, 2020a).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Pandemic: Epidemic disease that spreads to many countries or that attacks almost all individuals in a locality or region (Royal Spanish Academy, 2014 AU66: The in-text citation "Royal Spanish Academy, 2014" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
PCR: Acronym for “Polymerase Chain Reaction”. Diagnostic test that allows to detect a fragment of the genetic material of a pathogen or organism (Ministry of Health, Consumption and Social Welfare).
Xacobeo 2021: The Xacobeo, also known as the Jacobean Year, Holy Year or Jubilee Year, is celebrated when the feast of the Apostle Santiago on July 25 falls on a Sunday ( TurEspaña, 2021 AU67: The citation "TurEspaña, 2021" matches the reference "Turespaña, 2021", but the capitalization is different. ).
CO2 Meters: Carbon dioxide meter. Device used to check air quality ( Rodríguez de Luis, 2021 ).
Epidemic: Disease that spreads for some time in a country, simultaneously affecting large numbers of people (Royal Spanish Academy, 2014 AU65: The in-text citation "Royal Spanish Academy, 2014" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
IMSERSO: Institute for the elderly and social services. As one of the agencies that manage social security in Spain, IMSERSO is responsible for the complementary services provided to social security beneficiaries, including social tourism, holiday travels for the elderly, social thermalism or the stay of elderly people in spas (Institute of The Elderly and Social Services).