Managing the COVID-19 crisis: coping and post-recovery strategies for hospitality and tourism businesses in Ghana

PurposeHospitality and tourism researchers are yet to provide evidence of actual crisis management amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially from a resource-scarce destination perspective. By adapting a crisis management framework, the authors elected to fill this gap by exploring small and medium-sized hospitality and tourism operators' (SMHTOs) personal experiences of managing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Ghana. The study uncovers their crisis-coping strategies as well as immediate- and long-term post-recovery strategies.Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative lens, informed by phenomenology as well as theoretical saturation, data were collected from 20 owner-managers (OMs) and non-owner managers (NOMs) of accommodation, restaurants, travel and tour (T&T) agencies and souvenir shop operators via a combination of telephone and socially distanced face-to-face interviews as well as participant observation. Data were thematically analysed involving both deductive and inductive coding techniques. Data validity and reliability were confirmed using “member check” and inter-rater/coder reliability statistic in SPSS, respectively.FindingsImpacts of the pandemic on businesses included shutdowns, booking cancellations, revenue drops, lay-offs and defaults in the payment of pension contributions and taxes. The pandemic greatly impacted the accommodation, T&T and souvenir shop operators compared to food and beverage (F&B) operators due to the temporary closure of Ghana's borders and major attractions. The study identified six phases in SMHTOs’ crisis management process: awareness, combating the spread of COVID-19, coping mechanisms, short-term/immediate and long-term recovery measures and lessons learned. Besides, state institutions and personal beliefs influenced the coping and recovery actions used by SMHTOs.Practical implicationsIt is critical for governments and industry management institutions to consider the capabilities and specific actions taken by SMHTOs during a crisis such as COVID-19 in the efforts to support their crisis preparedness and response strategies. Furthermore, SME operators in the industry must see insurance uptake as one important measure that could help them cope with the losses instigated by the impact of a crisis and possibly speed up their recovery.Originality/valueThe study extends the general crisis management framework by including additional phases of crisis management and the specific activities carried out by SMHTOs in managing the COVID-19 crisis. This makes this study one of the first studies in Africa that examined crisis-coping and post-recovery strategies amongst small and medium-sized hospitality and tourism firms.