How hotels suffer from and deal with the economic effects of tourism seasonality: A case study of Aksum, Ethiopia

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the economic costs of tourism seasonality on hotels, and strategies for addressing these costs by taking Aksum, northern Ethiopia, as a research context. Semi-structured interviews were employed to collect data from 14 hotel managers in Aksum town and the data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings from the study showed that seasonality causes large occupancy drops during off-months and brings about a considerable drop in hotels’ revenue. However, in terms of recruitment and staff-related costs, hotels in Aksum do not concede serious economic costs and this is mainly attributed to their size. Study results also revealed that increasing supply of additional hotel products in peak season and diversifying products that cater to local markets are the major strategies for addressing tourism seasonality. The study offers an important theoretical contribution as it presents the economic costs of tourism seasonality on small hotels, and the major ways of overcoming it in a developing-destination context.

Keywords: economic consequences, low season, peak season, response strategies, thematic analysis