STATUS AND CHANGES IN THE MICROENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE HOTEL BUSINESS BEFORE AND AFTER THE EMERGENCE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, the subsequent economic, social and health crisis, and in 2022 the war in Ukraine are undoubtedly some of the most important factors that have influenced the development of our economy. Tourism, and in particular the hotel business, was one of the first to suffer serious losses and which needed rapid restructuring to meet the challenges of these force majeure circumstances that have overtaken the world and our country. In order to see the scale of the changes caused by the pandemic and the war, this article compares the macroeconomic conditions and the state of the hotel business for the period up to 2019, i.e. until the onset of COVID-19 and beyond. On the basis of the research, the conclusion is reached that regardless of the scale of the disaster and the negative impact on the hotel business, the latter adjusts according to the situation, but in general the macro environment in Bulgaria still does not offer conditions for sustainable development and there is no potential for the transformation of the economy and the hotel business, respectively, in the direction of increasing productivity and achieving sustainable growth in the next few years.