RESILIENCE OF TOURISM EMPLOYEES TO CHANGES CAUSED BY COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Although tourism is an industry that has become resistant to various problems over time, the consequences left by COVID-19 pandemic have taken on global proportions. Serbia, like many other countries, has suffered a great damage in tourism industry since the beginning of the pandemic. However, research on the connection between COVID-19 and tourism in Serbia is in its infancy. As no research has been conducted in Serbia on the resilience of employees in different sectors of tourism, the main goal of this study is to determine the extent to which employees in tourism sectors in Serbia are resilient to changes caused by COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the study aimed to determine the intentions in the behavior of employees after the pandemic. Respondents who participated in the research are employed in various sectors of tourism (travel agencies, travel organizations, tourist guides, employees in the hospitality industry, and academic sector). To achieve goals, the survey was conducted among 264 participants in November and December 2020. A scale of 50 statements was applied, and by applying the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), three resilience factors (competence, communication, and self-efficiency) were singled out. The results of the research show that employees in tourism are largely resilient to the changes, and the strongest factor that stands out among the respondents is competence. In addition, study proved that all the factors of the resilience are expected to have a positive effect on the behavior of employees in the post-crisis period.

Keywords

• employee resilience
• tourism employees
• COVID-19
• Serbia