The Drivers for Tourism Businesses’ Success After COVID-19 (Case Study: Mazandaran)

Tourism industry has been affected by various crises over the years. Covid-19 has severely affected tourism in Iran, especially in Mazandaran. Small and medium-sized tourism businesses suffered the most hurt due to their limitations. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the factors affecting small and medium tourism businesses success in the post-Corona eras.

Design/methodology/approach: 

The method of this research is descriptive – analytical method based on survey. The tool used was a questionnaire with closed questions that its indicators have been collected by studying valid foreign sources and they have been approved by professors and tourism experts. The reliability level of the questionnaire was calculated by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and then distributed among 177 tourism activists in Mazandaran province. SPSS and PLS3 software were used to analyze the collected data.

Findings show that there is a significant relationship between personal values and market-orientation. There is a significant relationship between personal values and customer orientation. There is no significant relationship between market-orientation and product performance. There is also no significant relationship between market-orientation and intangible assets performance. There is a significant relationship between customer orientation and product performance. There is also a significant relationship between customer orientation and intangible assets performance.

According to the results, suggestions show that it is important to place transparency and sharing of goals. It’s also important that government should support employees. The other important factors are integrated planning in the province, compliance with protocols, holding professional tours, etc.

Originality/value: 

For the first time, this research examines the factors affecting the small and medium-sized tourism businesses’ success in Mazandaran province during the pandemic.