Online discussion

29.4.2020

On April 28, the Department of Tourism, Hotel and Restaurant Business of the ER ICSTT organized an online discussion on the topic: “Overcoming the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Ukrainian Market of Servicesˮ.

The third-year students majoring in Hotel and Restaurant Business together with the assistant professor of the Department, Candidate of Political Sciences Anastasia Sycheva, discussed the crisis situation in which Ukrainian hotels and restaurants faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the main problems, the following were noted: staff reductions, salaries reduction, loss of customers, vague prospects for the resumption of work after quarantine. So, the third-year student Viktoria Babych focused on the need to develop a phased anti-crisis plan for the restoration of the hotel and restaurant sector by the central and local authorities, thanks to close cooperation with entrepreneurs.

The participants in the discussion, by analogy with foreign experience, proposed a number of measures to overcome the crisis, namely: reducing the cost of living, a system of discounts to attract customers, the use of hotel rooms during quarantine, etc. However, all participants in the discussion emphasized that under the conditions difficult economic situation in the country, such events are difficult to effectively implement without the provision of financial assistance by the country’s authorities to representatives of small and medium-sized businesses.

The student Vitalii Berezhnoi expressed the opinion that, despite the obviously negative impact of the pandemic, one can discern the positive consequences for the services market in Ukraine. For example, many restaurants have switched to online-service and offer new products to expand their customer base (fast-food dishes from chefs, home-style vegan fast food or food designer of the favorite dishes). The hotels had extra time to prepare for the summer season, since, according to forecasts, it is the domestic resorts that will be popular this year, moving foreign tours from the first position due to cheaper and safer offers.

In general, the participants in the discussion came to the conclusion that the consequences of COVID-19 can be overcome only by strong players in the hotel and restaurant sector with an extensive infrastructure and a network of professional connections and corporate digital communications. Whereas small and medium-sized businesses will need legal and financial assistance from the state to return to their previous pre-crisis positions.

Department of Tourism,
Hotel and Restaurant Business