DMOs and Community Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

The 1st Author:
Miyoung Jeong, Ph.D. is a professor in the School of Hotel, Restaurant, & Tourism Management at the University of South Carolina and International Scholar at Universidad de La Sabana in Colombia. Her research areas include smart tourism technology, digital technology, consumer behavior, hospitality operations, sharing economy, and business analytics.

The 2nd Author:
Myunghee Mindy Jeon, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Management in Bertolon School of Business at Salem State University, Salem, MA. Her research areas include hospitality marketing, customer behavior, lodging operations, sharing economy, corporate social responsibility, and residents’ quality of life in tourism destinations.

The 3rd Author:
Seonjeong (Ally) Lee, Ph. D., is an Associate Professor in the College of Education, Health and Human Services at Kent State University. Her research interests are persuasion strategy, experience marketing, and consumer well-being in the service industry context.

The 4th Author:
Dr. Hyejo Hailey Shin is an assistant professor at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her research interests lie in consumer behavior toward advanced technologies (e.g., AR/VR, robots), smart tourism, hospitality/tourism experience, and big data analytics.

Abstract (150 Words)

This study examined what roles DMOs have played to respond adaptively to the COVID-19 pandemic, while continually supporting and sustaining tourism activities and businesses in the destination. A mixed-methods approach was used to identify DMOs’ primary roles and their relationships with responses to the pandemic and resilience activities to sustain their destination. Semi-structured online interviews with DMO’s CEOs identified the four primary roles of DMOs during the pandemic—communications, marketing, support to local tourism businesses, and crisis responsibility. A nation-wide survey was conducted with DMOs professionals in the U.S. The findings of the study showed that communication significantly affected DMOs’ responses to the pandemic, and DMOs adaptive responses positively influenced the community resilience in the destination. Results of the multi-group analysis indicated significant differences between severe and less severe destinations in the proposed relationships. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed, followed by the study’s limitations and suggestions for future research.

Keywords: Destination Marketing Organization (DMO); Roles of DMOs; COVID-19; Community Resilience; Mixed-Method

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DMOs and Community Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study examined what roles DMOs have played to respond adaptively to the COVID-19 pandemic, while continually supporting and sustaining tourism activities and businesses in the destination. A mixed-methods approach was used to identify DMOs’ primary roles and their relationships with responses to the pandemic and resilience activities to sustain their destination. Semi-structured online interviews with DMO’s CEOs identified the four primary roles of DMOs during the pandemic—communications, marketing, support to local tourism businesses, and crisis responsibility. A nation-wide survey was conducted with DMOs professionals in the U.S. The findings of the study showed that communication significantly affected DMOs’ responses to the pandemic, and DMOs adaptive responses positively influenced the community resilience in the destination. Results of the multi-group analysis indicated significant differences between severe and less severe destinations in the proposed relationships. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed, followed by the study’s limitations and suggestions for future research.

Keywords: Destination Marketing Organization (DMO); Roles of DMOs; COVID-19; Community Resilience; Mixed-Method