Impacts on and Responses of Tourism SMEs and MEs on the COVID-19 Pandemic – The Case of Norway

Based on a news media review, this chapter explores how micro enterprises (MEs) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the Norwegian tourism sectors were impacted by COVID-19 in early 2020. It examines central stakeholders' and tourism SMEs and MEs first responses to the pandemic. Similar to previous crises and disasters, the case of COVID-19 demonstrates the reliance on top-down management approaches, notably governmental compensation schemes and subsidies. Given the magnitude of the impacts related to travel bans and border closures, response mechanisms remained largely insufficient. The media reviews reveals that in the first months after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, Norwegian tourism SMEs and MEs have responded in five ways that are to some extent time-displaced yet continue simultaneous: (1) early response to business survival, (2) smaller operational changes, (3) employee layoff and bankruptcies, (4) innovation and alternative income sources and (5) gradual reopening. The Norwegian tourism recovery will strongly rely on domestic tourism which requires a reorientation of communication strategies and Norwegianization (Fornorsking) of product development and innovation. Some Norwegian destinations have already demonstrated that high dependability on international tourists and often disintegrated tourism development may threaten sustainability and prosperity of local communities, and post-COVID-19 recovery strategies will be needed that mitigate the dependence on international markets, mono-seasons or tourism as a mono-industry.