Covid-19 Pandemic and Tourism Service Providers of Meghalaya, India: A Discussion on Mitigation Measures

The paper discusses mitigation measures against Covid-19 pandemic with a focus on the tourism service providers of Meghalaya, India. This is done through an assessment of the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the tourism sector with reference to small tourism enterprises. The impact assessment applies a quasi-experimental research technique called propensity score analysis, which comprises propensity score matching and difference-in-difference involving a comparison between the tourism service providers (experimental group [EG]) and the non-tourism service providers (control group [CG]). The study covers the pre-pandemic period till the year mid-2022 with a sample size of 350 classified into 200 EG businesses and 150 CG businesses collected through a schedule. The mitigation measures identified include propensity to save, self-confidence, etc. which help in shaping a resilient business enterprise which is critical for business operations, management, returns and continuity. Their significance can be seen in terms of future (possible) hardship/downturn similar to Covid-19 pandemic.