Ecotourism supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic: A real case study

Seyyed Mehdi Hosseini; Mohammad Mahdi Paydar; Mehdi Alizadeh; Chefi Triki

doi:10.1016/j.asoc.2021.107919

Ecotourism supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic: A real case study

Appl Soft Comput. 2021 Dec:113:107919. doi: 10.1016/j.asoc.2021.107919. Epub 2021 Sep 24.

Authors

Seyyed Mehdi Hosseini¹, Mohammad Mahdi Paydar¹, Mehdi Alizadeh², Chefi Triki^{3

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Industrial Engineering, Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, Babol, Iran.
² Department of Industrial Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran.
³ Kent Business School, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.
⁴ Department of Engineering for Innovation, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy.
⁵ College of Sciences and Engineering, Hamad bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar.

Abstract

The coronavirus (COVID-19) disease has caused serious and irreversible damage to the ecotourism industry, posing serious challenges to all parts of the ecotourism supply chain. The ecotourism supply chain is made up of various components, the most important of which are ecotourism centers. During these pandemic times, the primary concerns of these centers are to improve their deplorable economic conditions and retain customers for the post-coronavirus era. As a result, an investigation should be conducted to address these concerns and provide appropriate solutions to help them overcome the challenges that have emerged. To achieve the research goal, a bi-objective mathematical model for the ecotourism supply chain in an uncertain environment is developed, accounting for the effects of COVID-19. The first objective function minimizes the total cost of the supply chain, while the second maximizes customer satisfaction. The proposed mathematical model is solved using a fuzzy goal programming (FGP) method. A sensitivity analysis study is also carried out to examine the performance of some basic parameters. Furthermore, the model is tested in a real case study to determine its efficacy. Finally, some effective managerial insights are proposed to improve the situation of the centers during the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; Customer satisfaction; Ecotourism; Ecotourism supply chain (ESC); Mathematical model.