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Research proposal on a relevant contemporary issue in hospitality HM 205: Research Methods Dear students, In this course you are required to write a research work related to current issues in tourism and hospitality industry. You can pick up any contemporary issues such as the effect of COVID 19 on the hospitality and tourism industry. If you choose to conduct your research in assessing the effect of COVID 19 on the tourism and hospitality industry, you may consider the following issues. But you can also come up with any topic that is inline with your research interest. Suggested topics related to COVID 19 are listed as follows or any other temporary issues within hospitality and tourism industry: • COVID19 effect on individual, organisation and destination resilience • COVID 19 impact on consumer behaviour • Impact of COVID 19 on business behaviour and response strategies • The impact of COVID 19 on destination management and marketing response strategies • Impact of COVID19 destination and business attractiveness • development of “alternative tourisms” in response to COVID-19 • political dimensions of COVID19 and tourism and the use of quarantines and sanctions on mobility • COVID19 induced change, development and learning in tourism governance and policy. • Effectiveness of economic and financial assistance strategies to assist the tourism industry during the COVID19 crisis • economic, social and environmental implications of COVID-19 for tourism • COVID-19 and tourism’s contribution to the SDGs • Impact of COVID19 on tourism employment and human resources • Contemporary issues related to ecotourism, medical tourism, agritourism, CSR and tourism etc … You can investigate the effect of COVID19 in any of the following: markets, destinations, organizations and businesses, consumers, destination communities, transit zones and tourism transport. And once you choose your topic and get approved by me, you are required to collect data (primary data through surveys and or secondary data from various sources) to answer the research question of your choice. You are also required to synthesize the literature that is related to your topic. You will then analyze your data and write an excellent quality report. In this course you will be assessed as follows: Assignment 1: Prepare a research proposal on the topic of your choice. The due date for the proposal is week 4 and consists of 20% of your overall grade. Assignment 2: Based on your research proposal, collect data analyze it and write a research report. This task is due in week 10 and consists of 60% of your overall grade. Assignment 3: Present your research findings. This task is due in weeks 6-8 (presentation of research proposal 10%) and 12- 13 (presentation of the research report 10%) that in total consists of 20% of your overall grade. COVID-19 impact on consumer behaviour in tourism Topic: COVID-19 impact on consumer behaviour in tourism Introduction The hospitality industry is one of the most developing industries in the world. It contributes in trillions in foreign currency transaction (Davahli et al. 2020). Many places in the world are completely dependent upon the outcomes of this industry for their livelihood and survival. The global pandemic of Coronavirus affected all industries while the hospitality industry was affected the most (Ntounis et al. 2021). Due to international travel ban and social distancing measures, people stopped travelling and taking services of the industry. Airlines, hotels, restaurants and popular tourist destinations were deserted during that time. With the end of the pandemic, there has been certain shifts in the industry (Alonso et al. 2020). This paper proposes to understand these changes and how they are likely to impact the hospitality industry in Australia. Body Context of the issue The travel and hospitality industry contributes significantly in job creation, socioeconomic and cultural development internationally. The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented crisis in social, economic and global health aspects. Travel, tourism and hospitality are the disciplines that have been most affected due to this pandemic (Canhoto and Wei 2021). Due to social distancing measures and travel restrictions in different countries along with ban on international travelling for almost two years, the hospitality sector has taken serious economic hit. There are many destinations that are dependent solely on hospitality sector for their livelihood. Many people have lost their jobs and businesses due to lack of traveling. At the end of the pandemic crisis, tourism and hospitality has become the most damaged global industries. There has been steep decline in revenue amounting to 2.86 trillion USD, around 50% of revenue loss internationally (Crespí-Cladera, Martín-Oliver and Pascual-Fuster 2021). Australia is a country where hospitality is a highly developed sector and requires change in perspectives to recover post-COVID. Australia saw its peak in hospitality industry in the year 2019, before the pandemic hit the industry. More than 924 thousand people were employed in the sector which declined to 651 thousand. Not only the hotels, but restaurants, events, cafes, and takeaway joints too were affected during the two-year period (Rahimizhian and Irani 2020). However, since 2021, employment has increased in the industry as people have started to travel for domestic and international destinations. Australia being a country of diverse beauty and tourism experience has to prepare for onboarding the tourists and cater to their needs and demands. Rationale In the post- COVID era, the consumer behaviour in hospitality has changed significantly. The global pandemic has changed consumer preferences about destination, travel type and choice of stay and entertainment (Dube, Nhamo and Chikodzi 2021). Earlier, people considered hotels and cities as the prime factors for hotels while post-pandemic, people are preferring Airbnb and other personalised options more. There has also been a shift in trust for the consumers in hospitality industry. Consumer behaviour is the most essential aspect in any industry and the change in consumer behaviour for hospitality creates a challenge for the already dwindling industry. The hospitality sector needs to modify their offers and marketing strategies in order to attract more guests and improve their situation in the post-COVID world (Sanabria-Díaz, Aguiar-Quintana and Araujo-Cabrera 2021). Additionally, understanding the consumer behaviour in the hospitality sector will also open new ways of catering to the customers revive the industry in its previous state is required. Australia is a country that brings billions of dollars through their hospitality sector. It employs more than 478 thousand people every year and thus contributes largely in the development of the country (Aharon et al. 2021). Before pandemic, Australia was emerging as one of the most popular international tourism destinations which was affected due to the covid pandemic. With the pandemic restrictions at an end, Australia needs to consider the changes in the consumer behaviour in the industry to make changes in their offers and structure which will ensure its position as a international tourism destination. The Australian restaurant and hotel industry is also one of the most thriving industries in the country. The analysis and understanding of these changes will help this industry to modify their operations and corporate strategy that would increase their competitive edge in the world (Pillai et al. 2021). Thus, this particular research area is highly important and contributes to national growth and development for the future. Objectives The objectives of this study are as follows: 1) To understand the changing scenario of hospitality post-COVID pandemic 2) To understand the change in consumer behaviour in hospitality post-COVID pandemic 3) To determine the impact of changing consumer behaviour in the hospitality industry Research questions The research questions for this study are: 1) How has the hospitality sector’s trends changed post-covid pandemic? 2) What changes have taken place in consumer behaviour in hospitality post-Covid pandemic 3) How the changes in consumer behaviour is likely to impact the hospitality industry? Literature review Since COVID-19 hit the world, the behaviour of the consumers in the hospitality sector has changed significantly. Due to the increased chances of being infected and continuous mutation of the virus, most people all over the world chose to stay indoors rather than travelling. According to Rodríguez-Antón and Alonso-Almeida (2020), the end of pandemic changed consumer behaviour in aspects of destination choice, travelling mode and companions. This research shows that people are likely to travel within their own country and choose their friends as companions. They are also likely to choose travel methods that give them chances for social distancing and avoid crowded places. Most people are likely to choose alternative and experiential tourism rather than mass tourism due to their fear of contacting the disease. According to Clibborn and Wright (2020). The idea of tourism and hospitality has changed significantly during this time and consumers are more likely to consider places and services that followed government standards and restrictions are preferred by tourists. Additionally, consumers are also showing increasing interest in visiting remote places and considering hospitality a method to rejuvenate from their stressful life for the last two years. Staycation and work tourism has become one of the most popular trends in hospitality sector. According to Rahimizhian and Irani (2020), the current trend in the consumers of hospitality industry is shifting towards experiential tourism and gastronomy. This trend has been emerging even before the pandemic started and it continues even after. They are opting for more remote locations to unwind along with adventure tourism for their vacations. Methodology The research will include both primary and secondary data collection. This is a mixed method study where primary data will be collected through survey from international respondents through online questionnaire. The responders will have a chance to give informed consent through the online forms. The forms will be shared through social media channels and YouTube advertisements. A sample size of at least 1000 respondents will be considered. For secondary data collection, literature review of the existing research will be conducted. The research considers both quantitative data collected through survey questionnaire and qualitative data collected through the literature review. The data collected by the two methods will be analysed through content analysis for qualitative data and cross-tabulation and SWOT analysis. The ethical issues that are related to this kind of research will be considered and addressed through the survey questionnaires. There are other ethical issues that need to be considered for the study as well. Ethical issues The ethical issues related to this research includes voluntary participation, informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality and results communication. The participants of the survey are free to opt in or out of the study if they so desire. In such cases that participants opt out of the study, participants are not liable to provide any justification for their decision. The participants will be informed about the benefits, purpose, risks and other issues related to the study will be communicated before the give their consent to take part in the study. They decision regarding consent will regarded highly and no means of bribery or coercion will be included. The participants will have complete anonymity