Resumen de Comportamiento del turista en un entorno de alerta sanitaria
After the significant impact that the recent COVID-19 pandemic has had on the global tourism sector, including hotels, professionals in the industry and destination authorities must consider changes in tourism management and supply. These changes aim to reconcile future health crises with the continuity of tourism activity. The increasing importance of the tourism sector worldwide, especially in Spain, necessitates the development of strategies that contribute significantly to GDP, as it has done in recent years. The 21st century has already witnessed several epidemic outbreaks, and the substantial economic impact of these pandemic crises has led to their consideration as events that shape economic cycles.
In the first two years of the recent pandemic (2020 and 2021), the contribution of tourism to the Spanish GDP has decreased by 43%, dropping from 14% of the total GDP to 5.9% in 2020 and 8.5% in 2021. This reduction has also had a significant impact on employment, which declined by 11.6% during these two years. To control the spread of contagions, authorities, and hotels implemented measures to ensure safe accommodation. However, the rapid implementation of these measures did not allow for a prior assessment of their effectiveness and their impact on the hotel industry. Various studies have indicated that one of the most significant concerns when deciding to travel and selecting a destination is the risk of contracting a disease. Hence, it is interesting to investigate and identify the factors that contribute to tourists' perception of safety during their trips The objective of this work is to study in depth the behaviour of tourists in situations of the health crisis, and to discover which measures are most important to increase their safety, as well as the factors that influence the choice of a Safe Hotel. Safe Hotels are understood as those health-protective hotels that have not only implemented basic preventive measures against COVID-19 but have also implemented additional measures to minimize the direct and indirect interaction between people, protect health and prevent the transmission of the disease.
To achieve this objective, this thesis has undertaken three separate investigations, based on a study conducted in January 2021, during the peak of the third wave of COVID-19 in Spain.
The study involved surveying 521 potential hotel customers and conducting interviews with 14 hotel managers in the city of Cordoba.
While several studies assess the importance of different security measures implemented in hotels to address COVID-19, there is a lack of research that compares the perspectives of customers and managers. Understanding the differences between these two groups is crucial for managers to develop operational and marketing strategies that align with customer perceptions and lead to greater success.
The first research in this thesis has been conducted to achieve this goal. Drawing on the Stakeholder Theory as a theoretical framework, the perceived importance of security measures applied in hotels is compared between customers and managers. The findings indicate that these measures are more important for customers, and as the importance increases for both groups, the differences in their evaluations diminish. When categorizing the measures into dimensions, Cleanliness, Distance, and related Technology, it was observed that those related to hotel Cleanliness were deemed the most important by both groups, showing the highest level of agreement. On the other hand, measures concerning the implementation of infection control Technology were least valued by both groups and exhibited the greatest discrepancy in their evaluations.
The emergence of COVID-19 and the awareness of its impact on tourist accommodations have generated interest among academics and professionals to enhance the understanding of safe purchasing behavior during health crises. Selfish and socio-altruistic values play a crucial role in determining pro-social behaviors, including safe shopping behavior from a health perspective. Surprisingly, no study has yet explored the influence of these values on such behaviors.
To address this gap, the second research in this thesis introduces a research model that combines the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Value-Belief-Norm Theory. This model aims to analyze how selfish and socio-altruistic values affect individuals' intention to stay in a safe hotel. The study examines the direct and indirect effects of selfish concerns, mediated by attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, and personal norm, on the intention to stay in a safe hotel. Additionally, the indirect impact of socio-altruistic concerns is also assessed. Overall, the findings indicate that selfish concerns have a stronger influence than socio-altruistic concerns.
