Impact of COVID-19 on small community-based tourism businesses: diversification of opportunities and threats in modern Africa

Abstract

The article unpacks the pathways through which community-based tourism ventures can diversify. We argue that diversification can involve products, services and markets and it can take place at a geographic level (macro), community level (meso) and enterprise (micro) levels. This hierarchisation provides possibilities for diversification. The outbreak of COVID-19 has encumbered the growth and viability of tourism enterprises but may open new pathways through which firms can respond to its negative effects. Using secondary information available in extant literature, the article unpacks the impact of COVID-19 on four African countries to analyse the impacts and the mitigatory interventions that were implemented. The conducted study found out that Small Micro and Medium Enterprises were hard hit by the Corona virus such that jobs and incomes were lost with the possibility that some may firms may never open again given the inability to trade during lockdowns imposed by governments in response to the pandemic and inability to pay rent and debt. In response, governments established relief funds to assist firms to cope with the pandemic. We consider that enterprises can diversify and innovate as a copying mechanism with diversification taking the form of differentiation of the product offerings - by combining say carpet weaving and silkworm harvesting with marketing being done at community level. In sum, diversification is important for risk aversion and wading off competition.