This is a concept related to the size of a company. Usually, the business size is measured through variables such as staff headcount, turnover or balance sheet total. When those variables are lower than certain thresholds, the enterprise is categorized as an SME. For example, at the EU level, those ceilings can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/sme-definition_en .
Published in Chapter:
Strategic Management of the COVID-19 Crisis in Rural Tourism Settings: Lessons Learned From SMEs
Alfonso Vargas-Sánchez (University of Huelva, Spain)
Copyright: © 2021
|Pages: 26
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6996-2.ch001
Abstract
This chapter is intended to contribute to filling the gap in the scientific literature on crisis management in small and medium-sized rural tourism enterprises in the occasion of the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking as the object of this study the Spanish province of Huelva, and under a qualitative methodological approach, the research aim was threefold: the measures taken to alleviate the crisis, the lessons learnt during the period of coexistence with the pandemic, and the opportunities for the development of rural tourism in the post-viral scenario. The latter ones were related to key topics such as safety and hygiene, risk of rejection of tourism, destinations governance, marketing policies, compatibility between short-term emergency measures and long-term vision, creativity and innovation, and people-centred organizations. Finally, some practical implications were concluded on this strategic issue.