Recovery and Resilience Measures Taken by Travel Agencies in Mpumalanga, South Africa

Abstract

The aim of the study is to outline the measures that travel agencies took to reduce the chances of permanently collapsing in the province of Mpumalanga during the period of COVID-19. A quantitative study was conducted 121 responses were obtained from travel agency practitioners in the province of Mpumalanga, South Africa. The results revealed that only 5% of travel agencies deal with uncertainties (suspicion, uncertainty, and ambiguity) associated with the changing business environment conditions. The results also revealed that only 9% of travel agencies allocate resources to assist businesses in recovering from a crisis. Travel agencies have an urgent need to improve their ability to capacitate, adapt, efficiently and innovatively deal with the recovery which will improve their resilience and so to avoid the risk of permanently collapsing. A proper recovery and resilience crises management strategy guarantees travel agencies less exposure to risks during and post-crisis events. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed travel agencies to business, environmental and social risks, demanding quick recovery and resilience to avoid closing permanently.

Keywords

• recovery
• resilience
• uncertainty
• crises
• travel agencies