Business Survival in Times of COVID-19: Empirical Evidence from Tourism Enterprises in Thailand

The impact of COVID-19 has been extensively explored, but little research has been conducted on its impact on business sector adaption. This study analyses business adaptation and business survival in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on tourism enterprises in Thailand as a case study. Based on a survey of 316 tourism enterprises taken during the pandemic, the survey found that the pandemic resulted in the decline in revenues of most enterprises, and more than half of businesses tried to survive by reducing wages, reducing the number of branches and cutting back on store-opening hours. Using the Cox Proportional Hazard Model to predict length of business survival from the pandemic, it was found that most enterprises were unable to survive for more than 6 months (after the survey). Survival was found to be shorter in areas and business sectors that relied mainly on foreign tourists. Therefore, as for business implications, the traditional business model should be adapted to meet the needs of tourists in their new post-COVID lifestyles. In addition, tourism businesses need to focus on human resource management. Moreover, each type of tourism business needs to adapt its service model in different ways in order to meet the challenges of catering to a new normal.