The Spirit of Adventure: A Driver of Attractiveness of the Hospitality Industry for Young People during a Pandemic Crisis

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly affected tourism and leisure activities worldwide, especially in the hospitality and tourism sectors. Within this context, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the future attractiveness of the hospitality industry (HI) to young people. The conceptual model underpinning the empirical research proposes a direct relationship between job attractiveness and the spirit of youth adventure. Findings prove that young people are enthusiastic about working in the HI because they can easily practice their creative ideas. Communicating with other people and dealing with clients’ complaints is challenging for them in the pandemic crisis created by COVID-19. The results are of interest to policymakers in terms of suggestions on how to transform the challenges into opportunities by using the constraints imposed by the pandemic crisis that have limited the socialisation between people, enhancing the creativity of young people, and motivating them to work in the HI. Moreover, our research provides managers and other decisionmakers with some motivational factors to increase the attractiveness of their companies to young people and suggestions helpful to scholars involved in HI research to cultivate resilience capabilities by giving them inherent skills.