Looking into Ethiopian government’s policy responses towards COVID-19 in the eyes of tourism entrepreneurs

Abstract

The tourism and hospitality industry falls under the category of services which were the hardest hit economic sectors to COVID-19 globally. COVID-19 has drastically altered the tourism and hospitality landscape in Ethiopia. Nonetheless, there is a scarcity of studies examining the government’s policy responses to support tourism and hospitality businesses in Ethiopia during the pandemic. The aim of this study is twofold: (1) to assess the effects of COVID-19 on tourism and hospitality businesses in Ethiopia from the owners’ perspective and (2) to examine the opinion of tourism entrepreneurs on the enactment of the policy responses of the Ethiopian government. Data were collected from the owner-managers and presidents of the respective associations of these businesses and experts through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The results reveal that the fiscal and monetary measures introduced by the government to mitigate the pandemic’s impact were not implemented and thus remained ineffective. The study discusses how and why these fiscal measures, such as postponement and cancellation of tax payments and getting loans from banks at lower interest rates, were not implemented. It also discusses the reasons why the pledged government grants remained ineffectual. The study adds new insight on the enactment of government’s policy measures during the pandemic and thus has academic implications. The study has also policy implications since it should spark discussions among tourism scholars and practitioners on the reliance of businesses on the government support alone during such a crisis, particularly in the context of developing countries, where resources are scarce and government bureaucracies are inefficient