CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN TOURISM IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC

Manuela Panaitescu, Petronela Renea

Abstract
   Tourism is an important sector with an impact on the development of a country’s economy. The main benefits of tourism are generation of income and creation of jobs. For many countries it is the most important source of well-being. The dizzyingly rapid spread of COVID-19 infections has caused Romania to face a crisis situation for the management of which it is striving to find solutions. The impact of the crisis is strongly felt both in terms of the capacity of economic agents to manage human resources, but also in terms of trade relations with business partners. The situation we are in, but especially the one we want to reach, requires urgent and radical measures. The main objectives of the managers must be: removing tourism from its critical state and resetting the entire hospitality industry, positioning itself on other coordinates, taking into account global trends in the field and considering the successful international models and local specificities. One of the unexpected effects of this pandemic is that organizations have acknowledged the benefits of digital transformation. Given the long-term coexistence with some restrictions, companies are more inclined to analyze their processes and procedures and rethink their operations, so that remote work becomes the new mode of operation.