TY - JOUR
T1 - Brexit anticipated economic shock on Ireland’s planning for hospitality and tourism
T2 - resilience, volatility and exposure
AU - Burnett, Mark
AU - Johnston, Tony
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.
PY - 2020/5/22
Y1 - 2020/5/22
N2 - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore tourism scenario planning for an anticipated shock as viewed through the lens of Irish hospitality managers preparing for Brexit. The research appropriates a climate science framework to structure the study, situating preparations, or lack thereof, against the themes of volatility, exposure and resilience. Design/methodology/approach: The research uses a qualitative, pragmatic approach to determine how senior Irish hospitality managers were preparing for Britain’s exit from the European Union. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data conducted with hotel management, industry federations and tourism policymakers. Findings: Buoyancy of the industry, from an industry perspective, little foreseeable threat to the sector, has caused management to develop complacent tendencies, a myopic viewpoint and a head-in-the-sand mindset. Their “wait and see” and “ad hoc” approaches to planning for an anticipated shock suggest an industry that believes itself to be resistant to threats. Practical implications: The findings suggest that although tourism has been resilient to economic shocks in the past, historical lessons learned have not been implemented in anticipation of the next shock. More proactive engagement and better strategic preparedness is necessary to mitigate the impacts of future shocks. Industry needs to acknowledge its role in developing resilience and reducing volatility and exposure. The government additionally needs to coordinate initiatives with industry to develop robustness. Originality/value: The paper demonstrates areas of practice in the hospitality industry that could be improved to reduce volatility and exposure, enhance resilience and encourage rapid adaptability post crisis.
AB - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore tourism scenario planning for an anticipated shock as viewed through the lens of Irish hospitality managers preparing for Brexit. The research appropriates a climate science framework to structure the study, situating preparations, or lack thereof, against the themes of volatility, exposure and resilience. Design/methodology/approach: The research uses a qualitative, pragmatic approach to determine how senior Irish hospitality managers were preparing for Britain’s exit from the European Union. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data conducted with hotel management, industry federations and tourism policymakers. Findings: Buoyancy of the industry, from an industry perspective, little foreseeable threat to the sector, has caused management to develop complacent tendencies, a myopic viewpoint and a head-in-the-sand mindset. Their “wait and see” and “ad hoc” approaches to planning for an anticipated shock suggest an industry that believes itself to be resistant to threats. Practical implications: The findings suggest that although tourism has been resilient to economic shocks in the past, historical lessons learned have not been implemented in anticipation of the next shock. More proactive engagement and better strategic preparedness is necessary to mitigate the impacts of future shocks. Industry needs to acknowledge its role in developing resilience and reducing volatility and exposure. The government additionally needs to coordinate initiatives with industry to develop robustness. Originality/value: The paper demonstrates areas of practice in the hospitality industry that could be improved to reduce volatility and exposure, enhance resilience and encourage rapid adaptability post crisis.
KW - Anticipated economic shocks
KW - Ireland
KW - Resilience
KW - Scenario planning
KW - Tourism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85078252856&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/TR-04-2019-0118
DO - 10.1108/TR-04-2019-0118
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85078252856
SN - 1660-5373
VL - 75
SP - 595
EP - 606
JO - Tourism Review
JF - Tourism Review
IS - 3
ER -