JOSE RIZAL UNIVERAITY
80 Shaw Blvd. Mandaluyong, 1552 Metro Manila
A Case Study about the Impact of COVID-19 on Domestic
Travelers in the Philippines
HTM C101: Macro Perspective of Tourism and Hospitality
First Semester SY 2020-2021
Adela, Joanna Marie S.
Amal, Stefel Clux
Cordero, Alyanna Pollyne Espeña,
Allier Anne S.
Dusaban, Ma. Patricia Mae M.
Sambajon, Maricris P.
Margie N. Roma
Instructor
Table of Contents
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Key Issues/Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Recommendation and Implementation Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Introduction
The world globally changed when the outbreak that came from China started in January
2020 and the World Health Organization declared it as a pandemic last March 2020. It
was said that the virus can be easily transmitted through close contacts hence mass
gatherings were limited. Since then, several countries including our country banned
international flights due to fear brought by COVID-19. The rate of unemployment rose
higher because shops were shutting down and there was no enough income to give to
the employees. Many sectors and businesses were slowed down and one of the most
affected sectors is the Tourism Industry in our country. Numerous restrictions have been
declared during the pandemic that poorly affected not only tourism and the travelers but
also the hospitality industry such as the hotels, restaurants and cafés, festival events,
and more. Domestic Travels have rapidly slowed as a result of the crisis after our
government-imposed travel bans and introduced quarantine periods. Moreover, since
COVID-19 has been a huge disruption in our country, it somehow affected the physical,
mental, and emotional of the domestic travelers since traveling and exploring different
places that they used to do prior to the pandemic is a different kind of feeling for them.
As for a hodophile person, activities such as hiking, kayaking, scuba diving, etc. are
their definition of physical activities, which is a big help to lower their blood pressure,
and the risk of heart diseases. Traveling is also good for mental health as it is a great
stress reliever, promotes happiness, calmness, forget unpleasant situations, and makes
you feel excited. However, because of the pandemic, they chose to prioritize their health
and safety by staying at home and avoiding crowded places. Aside from that, it also
gave problems to those travelers who already planned and booked their flights for their
business trips or leisure trips and it caused them a lot of troubles in terms of refunding
their money from the hotels and airline tickets.
As we all know, the tourism sector in our country is a major source of
employment, government revenue, and foreign exchange earnings (UNESCO, 2015). It
is considered the backbone of the Philippine Economy. According to the Philippine
Statistics Authority, it remains one of the biggest contributors to our country’s Gross
Domestic Product comprised 12.7% in 2018. However, when the pandemic happened,
almost P42.9B was the projected loss of the tourism revenue from February to April
2020 and a huge decrease of 54.01% in foreign arrivals stated by Secretary Puyat from
the Department of
Tourism. In an attempt to at least recover the country’s tourism economy amidst the
pandemic, the Department of Tourism performed, an online survey last May 2020
entitled “Pandemic’s effects on domestic and international tourism and on Filipinos’
travel behavior in the post-Covid-19 “new normal.” Almost 77% of the 12,732
respondents from 81 provinces said that they are willing to travel domestically even in
the absence of the vaccine. With the closure of the international borders, the return of
foreign tourists is expected to be slow and gradual so the Department of Tourism
believes that domestic travel will be a great help in the recovery of Philippine tourism. In
fact, domestic tourism contributed a total of PHP3.14 trillion and is considered the
largest contributor in our country’s tourism industry. This is about 10.8% of the tourism
industry’s
12.7% contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product in the past year.
While the status of tourism in the Philippines seems all doom and gloom, it might take
longer for the sector to make a comeback and with the progress on the vaccine that is
taking some time, health and safety will be one of the primary concerns of local and
international travelers. Creaco and Querini (2003) stated that tourism is the largest
industry and is among the fastest-growing economic sector. However, the outbreak
instigated crises in the tourism economy that led the researchers to conduct a study
regarding this issue. Moreover, the problem of this study is to know how COVID19
affected not only our tourism and hospitality industry but also the domestic travelers in
the Philippines. In addition, this case study aims to search and recognize the impacts of
COVID-19 towards the domestic travelers in the Philippines as well as the adjustments
and alterations made in the tourism and hospitality industry and how will they revive the
sector amidst of the Pandemic.
Key Issues/Problems
As the pandemic is still occurring, we all know that one of the most affected sectors in
our country is the Tourism Industry. Travel plans of Filipinos were affected, a huge
decrease of the foreign arrivals and it affected the physical and mental health of the
domestic travelers. In this chapter, the researchers will analyze the problem being faced
and further understand the impacts of COVID-19 on the domestic travelers and tourism
industry in the Philippines.
COVID-19’s Impact on the Travelers’ Physical and Mental Health
It has been found that taking vacations can contribute to subjective well-being because
people have more opportunities to detach from their work environment, to experience
new things, and to control what they want to do during vacations (Fritz and Sonnentag,
2007). As for travelers, traveling is their basis for physical activities as there are lots of
activities that can be done during a person’s trip such as kayaking, scuba diving,
swimming, sky diving, and many more. Without these activities, they might lose interest
in their work because due to lack of enjoyment and lack of physical activities as well as
developing several diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. It
can also affect their mental health since traveling, engaging with other people,
discovering new places and cultures is actually good for our mental health however, as
quarantine was implemented, travelers had to stay with their designated homes to avoid
getting the virus and spreading it. As (Newman and Zainal, 2020) stated that a lack of
social interaction can lead to long-term distress and a decline in emotional well-being.
So, without the presence of travel, it might affect some of the travelers' mental health.
COVID-19’s Impact on the Tourism Industry and Travel Plans
Tourism is one of the world’s fastest-growing industries and an important source of
foreign exchange and employment for many developing countries (UNESCO, 2015).
That is why, when the outbreak of COVID-19 spread all over the world, our country
which is the Philippines has been one of the most affected countries among the ASIA.
Moreover, as the number of cases becomes higher each day, our tourism has been
badly affected as the government imposed travel bans and introduced quarantine
periods.
Figure 1. Number of Foreign Arrivals in the Philippines
Foreign Arrivals in our country
10
0
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Foreign Arrivals in our country
Source: Department of Tourism
The figure above shows the total number of foreign arrivals in the Philippines from 2009
to 2020. As you can see in 2019, the Department of Tourism reached their number goal
of foreign arrivals, which is 8.2 Million, but suddenly in 2020, because of the outbreak, it
gave a huge decrease from 8.2 Million, It became 1.3 Million. Last August 14 this year,
The Department of Tourism announced that the tourist arrivals in the Philippines
slumped by 73% during the seven months of 2020. According to Tourism Under-
Secretary Benito
Bengzon, the big decline in our tourism that started in Mid-March was when travel
restrictions were introduced to contain the spread of COVID-19. Moreover, with no
foreigners visiting the country, the Department of Tourism now relies on our Domestic
Tourism. As he claimed that 10.8% of the country’s GDP could be attributed to our
domestic tourism based on the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
“We have a huge domestic tourism base. Last year, there were about 109 Million
domestic trips and we are very confident that as we open destinations, it will be the
local tourists who will create demand,” Benito Bengzon added.
Figure 1.2 Travel Plans of Filipinos in 2020
TRAVEL PLANS OF FILIPINOS IN 2020
Travel Plans of Filipinos in 2020
BUSINESS TRAVEL 47%
LEISURE TRAVEL 51%
Source: Statista 2020
The figure above shows the percentage of the impact of COVID-19 on the Filipino’s
travel plans in 2020. With the travel restrictions put in place to control the further spread
of the virus, Leisure Travel and Business Travel has been put on hold to secure the
safety of all travelers and to avoid spreading the virus.
Data Gathering Procedure
Given the fact that the objectives of the study include searching and recognizing
the positive and negative impacts of COVID-19 to the domestic travelers in the
Philippines as well as the adjustments and alterations made in the tourism industry. The
researchers collaborated in formulating queries for the interview and came up with
questions that will help them in achieving the goals and objectives of their study.
However, due to the threat of the virus and protocols imposed by our government, the
researchers were unable to carry out a personal interview with their respondents. As an
alternative, in order for the researchers to collect data that will support and serve as
evidence for their study, they performed an online interview with six people who had
already experienced traveling domestically amidst the pandemic through Facebook
chats.
The questions that were asked in the interview were the following:
(1) Have you already traveled domestically during the pandemic?
(2) What place/s did you visit?
(3) What changes have you noticed during your trip?
(4) How did the pandemic affect your travel?
(5) What do you think is the positive and negative impact of the pandemic on
domestic travelers like you?
The researchers analyzed the responses and the results will be the basis in determining
the impacts of COVID-19 on domestic travelers in the Philippines.
Data Analysis
The researchers used the Thematic Analysis Method in analyzing the interview
questions including the participant’s responses. It allows the researchers to easily
identify and make sense of the shared meanings and experiences of an individual.
Based on the researchers’ analysis of the participant’s responses, the main
impact of COVID-19 on the domestic travelers was the nuisance it gave to them due to
the pandemic. Their travel plans for this year were either postponed or canceled
because of the travel restrictions that our government imposed to avoid spreading the
virus. Due to these strictly imposed restrictions and protocols, traveling had become
stressful for the travelers since they had to pass through several checkpoints and
additional health requirements were needed. The researchers also found out the
negative and positive impact of COVID-19 on travelers. According to them, because of
the threat of the virus, they can’t go outside easily and enjoy traveling because they
were scared to contact the virus so it somehow affected their happiness. While on the
brighter side, it also gave them the opportunity to spend more time with their family
during the quarantine period.
The identified issues and problems mentioned in the case study can be linked
to the economic impact of tourism. The role of our tourism is bigger than what we think it
is. It is the source of income, employment, and foreign exchange. However, when the
outbreak started, the tourism in our country was slowed down, this includes the
suspension of mass transportation and all domestic flights and closing of tourism
businesses which affected almost all tourists and employees who work in the tourism
industry.
Recommendations
With the help of the data analysis, the researchers discovered that COVID-19
has been a nuisance and disrupted the lives of people. It may have some benefits to
other people, but the negative effects still overshadow the positive. With that in hand,
the researchers have come up with recommendations to help control the negative
effects of COVID-19.
For crew members. They must avoid piling in a tight space. They should find a
means to avoid close contact with people whenever they can without disregarding their
jobs. For example, they can use an intercom system to communicate without traveling
and having contact with others.
The medical report of passengers should be examined before the day of the
flight. If the passenger show sign of severe coughing, difficulty in breathing, and
generally unwell they may not be permitted to board the planes.
All disposable protective equipment should be discarded in a proper waste bag to
avoid contamination. Furthermore, the waste bag must be properly sterilized before and
after the flight for the convenience of the crew members and passengers.
Cleaning of the aircraft after the flight will help decrease the chances of the virus
to spread. If there is no symptomatic passenger found, an improvised cleaning routine
could be used, objects that comes to contact with an individual should be sterilized.
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