COVID-19: Socio-Economic Consequences on the Hospitality Industry in Malaysia

Nur Hidayah Che Ahmat , Syafiqah Rahamat , Susan Wohlsdorf Arendt

Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Pulau Pinang, Kampus Permatang Pauh, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Department of Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
Department of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management, Iowa State University, Iowa, United States of America

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35609/gcbssproceeding.2021.12(52)

ABSTRACT


The novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) first appeared in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province China before emerging in neighbouring countries in early 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic when the spreading of the virus started accelerating in many parts of the world and killing thousands of people. As of 22nd May 2021, there were more than 166 million confirmed cases with more than 147 million recovered and nearly 3.5 million deaths (Worldometers, n.d.). According to the WHO (2020) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020), the virus easily spreads through coughing and sneezing. Therefore, many countries implemented social distancing between individuals and various other restriction orders or recommendations (e.g., stay-at-home policies, closure of non-essential businesses) to help curb virus spread. How governments in each country reacted to control the spread of the virus appeared crucial to mitigate public health and economic impacts.


Keywords: Foodservice, Hospitality, Hotel, Malaysia, Pandemic

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