The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Effects on the Greek Tourism Sector: A Case Study of the Region of Eastern Macedonia - Thrace
Abstract
The recent novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19 pandemic) has led to a new, multi-faceted societal, healthcare and generalized economic crisis, both at national and international levels. The measures taken to deal with the pandemic have resulted in unprecedented situations in almost all sectors of the Greek economy. This article attempted to investigate the extent of the impact of this new crisis on Greek tourism companies, focusing on the case of tourist accommodation and food services by region, since the tourism industry has been greatly afflicted. The main variable examined was the degree of decline in the turnover of the tourism businesses under discussion over the last two years, at regional and national levels. This was supplemented with comparative analyses of similar measurable data. Secondary and statistical data were obtained from the Hellenic Statistical Authority, the Hellenic Tourism Organization and databases of other related institutions.
Keywords: COVID-19, tourism industry, Greek companies, tourist product, region οf Eastern Macedonia - Thrace
References
[1] Hazakis, JK. Is there a way out of the crisis? Macroeconomic challenges for Greece after the Covid-19 pandemic. European Politics and Society. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1080/23745118.2021.1895554
[2] Estrada MAR, Park D, Lee M. How a massive contagious infectious diseases can affect tourism, international trade, air transportation, and electricity consumption? The case of 2019 novel Coronavirus
(2019-nCoV) in China [Preprint]. 2020 [cited 2021 Mar 16]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn. 3540667
[3] Buhalis D. Tourism in Greece: Strategic analysis and challenges. Tourism Research. 2001;4:440-480. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500108667898
[4] Lyulyov O, Chygryn O, Pimonenko T. National brand as a marketing determinant of macroeconomic stability. Marketing and Management of Innovations. 2018;3:142-152.
[5] Lyulyov O, Us Y, Pimonenko T, et al. Marketing strategies of green investments: Basic concepts and specific features. Herald of Ternopil National Economic University. 2019;1:177-185. https://doi.org/10. 35774/visnyk2019.01.177
[6] Lyulyov Ο, Us Y, Pimonenko T, et al. The link between economic growth and tourism: Covid-19 impact. Paper presented at: 36th International Business Information Management Association (IBIMA); 2020 Nov 4-5; Granada, Spain.
[7] Zhang H, Song H, Wen L, Liu C. Forecasting tourism recovery amid COVID-19. Annals of Tourism. Research. 2021;87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2021.103149
[8] World Health Organization. WHO coronavirus disease (COVID-19) dashboard [Internet]. World Health Organization; 2020 [cited 2021 Mar 9]. Available from: https://covid19.who.int/table
[9] Nicola M, Alsafi Z, Sohrabi C, et al. The socio-economic implications of the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19): A review. International Journal of Surgery. 2020;78:185-193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu. 2020.04.018
[10] World Tourism Organization. Impact assessment of the COVID-19 outbreak on international tourism [Internet]. World Tourism Organization; 2020 [cited 2021 Mar 9]. Available from: https://www.unwto.org/ impact-assessment-of-the-covid-19-outbreak-on-international-tourism
[11] World Economic Forum. This is how Coronavirus could affect the travel and tourism industry [Internet]. World Economic Forum; 2020 [cited 2021 Mar 13]. Available from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/ 2020/03/world-travel-coronavirus-covid19-jobs-pandemic-tourism-aviation/
[12] European Travel Commission. European tourism sector demands urgent supportive measures to reduce devastating impact of COVID-19 [Internet]. European Travel Commission; 2020 [cited 2021 Mar 13]. Available from: https://etc-corporate.org/news/european-tourism-sector-demands-urgent-supportivemeasures-to-reduce-devastating-impact-of-covid-19/
[13] Škare M, Soriano DR, Porada-Rochoń M. Impact of COVID-19 on the travel and tourism industry. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 2021;163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120469
[14] Zsifkovits M, Zsifkovits J, Pickl SP. Simulating healthcare quality innovation based on a novel medical treatment: The case of Hepatitis-C in Europe. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 2016;113:454-459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.07.013
[15] Assaf A, Scuderi R. COVID-19 and the recovery of the tourism industry. Tourism Economics. 2020;26(5):731-733. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354816620933712
[16] Karabulut G, Bilgin MH, Demir E, Doker AC. How pandemics affect tourism: International evidence. Annals of Tourism Research. 2020;84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.102991
[17] Dolnicar S, Zare S. COVID 19 and Airbnb - Disrupting the disruptor. Annals of Tourism Research. 2020;83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.102961
[18] Fotiadis A, Polyzos S, Huan TC. The good, the bad and the ugly on COVID-19 tourism recovery. Annals of Tourism Research. 2021;87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.103117
[19] World Tourism Organization. International tourist number could fall 60-80% in 2020 [Internet]. World Tourism Organization; 2020 [cited 2021 Mar 16]. Available from: https://www.unwto.org/news/covid-19- international-tourist-numbers-could-fall-60-80-in-2020
[20] Polyzos S, Samitas A, Spyridou AE. Tourism demand and the COVID 19 pandemic: An LSTM approach. Tourism Recreation Research. 2020;46(2):175-187. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2020.1777053
[21] Papanikos G. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Greek tourism. Athens Journal of Tourism. 2020;7(2):87-100.
[22] Niewiadomski P. COVID-19: From temporary deglobalisation to a re-discovery of tourism? Tourism Geographies. 2020;22(3):651-656. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1757749
[23] Sigala M. Tourism and COVID-19: Impacts and implications for advancing and resetting industry and research. Journal of Business Research. 2020;117:312-321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.06.015
[24] Mair S. What will the world be like after coronavirus? Four possible futures [Internet]. The Conversation; 2020. Available from: https://theconversation.com/what-will-the-world-be-like-after-coronavirus-fourpossible-futures-134085
[25] Sneader K, Singhal S. Beyond Coronavirus: The path to the next normal [Internet]. McKinsey and Company; 2020 [cited 2021 Mar 16]. Available from: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcaresystems-and-services/our-insights/beyond-coronavirus-the-path-to-the next-normal
[26] Rabinovich E, Cheon SH. Expanding horizons and deepening understanding via the use of secondary data sources. Journal of Business Logistics. 2011;32(4):303-316. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0000-0000.2011. 01026.x
[27] Hellenic Statistical Authority - ELSTAT. Evolution of the turnover of accommodation and food services businesses [Internet]. Hellenic Statistical Authority – ELSTAT; 2021 [cited 2021 Apr 4]. Available from: https://www.statistics.gr/el/statistics/-/publication/SBR02/-
[28] Hellenic Statistical Authority - ELSTAT. Turnover due to the COVID-19 pandemic [Internet]. Hellenic Statistical Authority – ELSTAT; 2021 [cited 2021 May 21]. Available from: https://www.statistics.gr/el/ statistics/-/publication/SBR02/-
[29] Institute of the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises INSETE. Statistical Bulletin (66) [Internet]. INSETE Intelligence; 2021 [cited 2021 Jun 10]. Available from: https://insete.gr/statistika-deltia/