Case 1: Resilience and Recovery in the Tourism Industry During COVID-19

Tourism and hospitality industry in Indonesia and Malaysia has been badly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the dramatic drop of total sales and profit. The hotel operators have been facing various challenges and struggling to survive. As a result, there were many new marketing strategies implemented in the hotel industry to survive and grow during this global crisis. This book chapter discusses the problems and issues occurred in the tourism and hospitality industry in Indonesia and Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the book chapter presents four key inter-related Marketing strategies: (1) Cost-based; (2) Product/service-based; (3) Market-based; and (4) Community-based strategies, which were implemented by the hotel operators to combat the threat of the health crisis. While cost-based strategies reflect a survival-based strategy, product/service-based and market-based strategies stimulate potential growth, and community-based strategies enhance long-term image of hotel businesses and maintain good relationships with key stakeholders.