The current research has been carried out to achieve the model for sustainability of the supply chain of Iran's tourism industry with an emphasis on the pandemic conditions of the coronavirus. This research was based on the Qualitative Method and grounded theory strategy. Research data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 19 tourism industry experts. Data analysis was done during three stages of open, axial, and selective coding and led to the emergence of 438 open codes, 127 concepts, 19 sub-categories, and four main categories in three classes. The results showed that the drivers of supply chain sustainability and the enablers of tourism supply chain sustainability as causal conditions have made it necessary to sustain the tourism supply chain, considering the pandemic crisis. The sustainability of the tourism supply chain can be expected through the correct selection and application of action interactions, which are the sustainability methods of the tourism supply chain.
Introduction
As a result of the global expansion of the pandemic, the tourism industry faced one of its most significant operational, commercial, and financial crises (Strielkowski, 2020). Before the pandemic, tourism was one of the world’s most influential and growing economic sectors. With the emergence of the pandemic, sustainability has become an essential issue in tourism (Bai & Ran, 2022). The researchers found that the pandemic inspired people to think more about sustainability issues, including stakeholder engagement, corporate social responsibility, and the fight for competitive advantage in the coronavirus and post-corona era (Pelikanova et al., 2021).
The pandemic shifted the focus from the trend towards the continuous expansion of tourism to the sustainability of the supply chain. Despite the many challenges raised, this crisis has increased the awareness of organizations, citizens, and policymakers towards sustainability and created an urgent need to apply sustainable supply chain management practices (Corsini et al., 2021). However, it is not easy to achieve consensus on sustainable tourism supply chain management practices due to the fragmented nature of tourism destinations and other structural features associated with tourism destinations, and a comprehensive approach to sustainability is needed to gain better knowledge about sustainable business decisions in Tourism sector is needed which is not present in the literature. This research tries to answer the question: What is the sustainability model of the tourism supply chain in Iran according to the pandemic conditions?
Literature Review
Today, organizations must strengthen their competitive advantage to survive in a dynamic and complex market. Considering that there is no more competition between organizations; instead, it is competition between supply chains (Zhao & Hao, 2022), efficient supply chain management has become a valuable way to gain competitive advantage and improve organizational performance (Lee & Fernando, 2015). The supply chain is a relatively comprehensive approach for understanding, analyzing, planning, and managing the dynamics of tourism, and by using it, the sectors and factors affecting tourism can be examined continuously and organized (Ziaei et al., 2016).
Gruchmann and colleagues (Gruchmann et al., 2022) associated the success of tourism industries with the necessity of realizing sustainable supply chain management in tourism. In the research community, there is a growing consensus that the evolution towards sustainable tourism supply chains increases the flexibility and resilience of supply chains. In addition, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC, 2020) has predicted the future trends of the tourism industry due to the spread of the COVID-19 disease and, in addition to changing demand patterns, the importance of health and wellness, attention to technology and innovation, to the tendency to He has also pointed towards the sustainable approach in the tourism industry.
Sustainable tourism supply chain management is a set of approaches to guide the supply chain of the tourism industry towards sustainability. It adds sustainability to existing supply chain management processes to consider business activities’ environmental, social, and economic impacts. (Soratana et al., 2021).
Methodology
The present study is a Qualitative Method using Grounded Theory Methodology. The participants in the research included experts and informants of the tourism industry, which includes academic, organizational, and professional experts (hotel, restaurant, transportation, travel agency, managers) who were selected by purposive Sampling Method. The Data Collection Method was a semi-structured interview that continued until the theoretical saturation stage, and data analysis was performed using MAXQDA software in three stages: open, axial, and selective coding.
Results
This research, after studying previous similar documents, researching and familiarizing with the concept of sustainability of the supply chain of the tourism industry due to the lack of a specific model for pandemic conditions, was compiled using the foundation's data theory strategy. During the coding process, 438 open codes, 127 concepts, 19 subcategories, and four main categories were extracted into three classes, and their characteristics were identified. The tourism supply chain considering pandemic conditions by the Stabilization Model is shown in Figure (1),
Discussion
Drivers of tourism supply chain sustainability include public pressure, sustainability capabilities, and the changed demand of tourists, and enablers of tourism supply chain sustainability include government support, tourism sustainability policy, social and technological innovation, and development of tourism infrastructure as conditions that necessitate the sustainability of tourism supply chain with respect It has become a pandemic condition. Tourism supply chain by sustainability methods that included customer management in tourism units, supplier management in tourism units, staff management in tourism units, destination management in tourism areas, marketing management of tourism products and services, localization in tourism areas, cooperation with stakeholders in the supply chain, waste, and sewage management in tourism areas and units, and resource and energy management in tourism areas and units can lead to the emergence of sustainable tourism supply chain performance taking into account pandemic conditions.
Discussion
Drivers of tourism supply chain sustainability include public pressure, sustainability capabilities, and the changed demand of tourists, and enablers of tourism supply chain sustainability include government support, tourism sustainability policy, social and technological innovation, and development of tourism infrastructure as conditions that necessitate the sustainability of tourism supply chain with respect It has become a pandemic condition. Tourism supply chain by sustainability methods that included customer management in tourism units, supplier management in tourism units, staff management in tourism units, destination management in tourism areas, marketing management of tourism products and services, localization in tourism areas, cooperation with stakeholders in the supply chain, waste, and sewage management in tourism areas and units, and resource and energy management in tourism areas and units can lead to the emergence of sustainable tourism supply chain performance taking into account pandemic conditions.
Conclusion
The model obtained in the research is a comprehensive and rich model of the sustainability of the supply chain of the tourism industry, taking into account the pandemic conditions, which is a local model that is from the experts' point of view and can be implemented. The results of this research will help tourism supply chain managers to design and adopt sustainability methods, taking into account pandemic conditions, and it is expected that, in addition to stabilizing the tourism supply chain, it will lead to the prosperity of tourism businesses and the improvement of the livelihood of local communities |
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