Investigating Factors Toward Recovery of the Number of Countryside Lodgings Following COVID-19

Abstract

COVID-19 tremendously impacted the tourist industry, including rural areas. However, the recovery process of tourist businesses has not yet been fully explored. Therefore, the present study investigated the factors affecting the COVID-19 recovery process of tourist businesses by examining several countryside lodges in rural Japan. The study employed an ordered logit model to investigate managerial factors that affected the recovery process. We developed an online survey questionnaire, distributed to 260 operators of countryside lodging businesses in rural Japan. The results of this model illustrate that the following factors had statistical significance: operators who had experienced a relatively mild decrease in the number of guests who used Instagram for promotion, male-majority guests, and guests of a higher educational background (i.e., college graduates). Furthermore, statistically significant factors in business operations comprised good hospitality and price as business strengths. Based on the findings, support measures to promote internet marketing and enhance good hospitality practices should be designed to revitalize countryside lodging tourist businesses post-COVID-19.