Social Capital and Resilience of the Tourism Industry during the COVID-19 Pandemic:

Abstract

This study examined whether or not online community activities in the inbound tourism industry in Japan, which emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, provided social capital (SC) to its members and whether or not this led to increased business resilience for individual members. By analyzing data obtained from a questionnaire survey, this study found that approximately 30% of respondents felt that they had formed SC through these activities, which in turn enhanced their resilience. This study shows that the crisis fostered transboundary networks that spanned sectors and scales within the tourism industry, and those who actively engaged in these networks acquired SC, thereby driving their resilience. In addition to supporting prior research that SC is beneficial for crisis responses, this study suggests that crises can, conversely, generate SC and thus drive resilience.

Keywords

• online community
• bridging social capital
• bonding social capital