Tourism businesses management practices in the Plateau State, Nigeria, during the ‘new normal’: A chaos theory approach

Tina Odinakachi Iirmdu; Ronnie Donaldson

doi:10.58683/sp.500

Published : 2023-05-22

Vol. 41 No. 1 (2023)

Tourism businesses management practices in the Plateau State, Nigeria, during the ‘new normal’: A chaos theory approach

Tina Odinakachi Iirmdu

Ronnie Donaldson

DOI: https://doi.org/10.58683/sp.500

Abstract

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic businesses in the travel and tourism industry were pushed to the edge of chaos and bifurcation and restrictions resulted in unprecedented and far-reaching impacts. Using a qualitative method, chaos theory is applied to investigate 24 tourism business managers in Plateau State in Nigeria on the business management practices employed for their businesses to promote tourism activities following the post-pandemic reopening of tourism businesses. Results reveal that most of the tourism businesses survived the pandemic with businesses gradually ‘bouncing back’ due to human resources and the overhauling of business operations. Bifurcation caused tourism businesses to be on paths that led to their closure (destruction), while some gained new market segments thanks to reorganization to reach self-organization facilitated by strange attractors. The incorporation of chaos theory in business management practices during the pandemic further confirms that crises are complex and unpredictable.

Keywords:

tourism, business management practices, new normal, chaos theory, Plateau State

Details

References

Statistics

Authors

Download files

manuscript

Citation rules

Odinakachi Iirmdu, T., & Donaldson, R. (2023). Tourism businesses management practices in the Plateau State, Nigeria, during the ‘new normal’: A chaos theory approach. Studia Periegetica, 41(1), 109–134. https://doi.org/10.58683/sp.500

Altmetric indicators

Cited by / Share

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Tina Odinakachi Iirmdu

Affiliation:

Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa South Africa

Bio Statement (e.g., department and rank)

Tina Odinakachi Iirmdu is a lecturer at University of Jos, Nigeria. She recently completed her PhD study at the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. She received a bachelor’s degree in Geography and Planning and a master’s degree in environmental and resources planning (with tourism and recreation planning as area of specialization) both degrees from University of Jos, Nigeria. With over 10 years’ experience as a researcher, she has published just over 15 academic journal and chapter articles. She specializes in tourism studies, research methods and crisis management in the tourism industry. Her current research interests are on crisis (pandemics) and the tourism industry.

Ronnie Donaldson

Affiliation:

Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa South Africa

Bio Statement (e.g., department and rank)

Ronnie Donaldson is a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Stellenbosch. He specializes in urban and tourism studies. With over 25 years’ experience as a researcher, he has published a sole authored book on small town tourism in South Africa (2018), six co-edited books, just over 100 academic journal and chapter articles, and numerous consultancy and policy reports for various government institutions. He serves on a number of national academic and research committees reviewing research proposals, academic profiles and standards, and also served as councilor on the South African Geographical Society in the past. His current research interests are culture-led urban regeneration and island geographies. He is a fellow of the Society of South African Geographers.