The Impact of COVID-19 on Ethnic Business Households Involved in Tourism in Ninh Thuan, Vietnam

Abstract

Since the COVID-19 outbreak at the end of 2019, there have been many studies on its impact on the tourism industry. However, research on the effects of this pandemic on ethnic tourism business households is minimal. This study explores how COVID-19 has affected ethnic minority tourism businesses and how they have responded to the crisis. Two ancient craft villages of the Cham people, which are popular destinations in Ninh Thuan province, were selected as case studies. Data were collected from late 2021 to early 2022 through fieldwork and in-depth interviews with 20 subjects who ran Cham-owned business households. A mini-survey of 52 Cham-owned tourism business households was also conducted as a qualitative method to supplement the statistical data. The findings of this study are: the Cham tourism business households have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but not significantly; and that the Cham business households have utilized their own advantages (such as a small business scale, utilization of available advantages, reasonable gender division of labor in the family, changing business strategies, and taking advantage of social media) to weather the crisis. This article contributes to the literature on the impact of disasters on tourism by focusing on how ethnic minorities use the business household model to overcome a crisis and by presenting evidence that ethnic tourism combined with business households is a sustainable model.