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Abstract |
Within tourism, resilience is often understood as relating to a firms or destinations ability to be robust in the face of change and the strategies they follow when the framework conditions shift (e.g., Cheer and Lew 2018; Hall, Prayag and Amore 2018; Prayag 2018). As Prayag (2018:133) notes, adapting from Holling (1973), «ideas of resilience are related not only to change but also to stability and response». The Covid-19 pandemic presents one such challenge that has significantly tested the resilience of the tourism sector and places where tourism is important. It has also exacerbated tourism trends established prior to the outbreak, notably a shift away from mass tourism linked to major commercial sites, towards smaller scale, more authentic and unique tourist experiences. In this paper we discuss, based on interviews with small firms in the nature-based tourism (NBT) sector before the pandemic hit, to what extent such firms might have special advantages in responding to major external challenges like Covid-19. |
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