e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 131 Satyajit Sinha Kangsabati Agri Adventure Park, West Bengal, India Bipithalal Balakrishnan Nair Higher Colleges of Technology, Fujairah, UAE Mapping Well-Being and Resilience of Tourism Intermediaries Amid Covid-19: Perspectives from India The impact of the pandemic on the tourism workforce is multidimensional, including from economic, social, and psychological perspectives. Compared to the impact on other emotional factors, substantial issues remain unaddressed. Thus, this study focuses on the psychological effects of COVID-19 on travel intermediary businesses in India drawn from primary (interviews) and secondary (document analysis) data sources. It confirms the unprecedented situation of tourism employees facing a slew of issues, many of which are detrimental to their emotional well- being during these turbulent times. The findings present very general to specific issues, categorised under four main themes: a) common psychological issues in the working population, b) unreliable employment, c) pressure for a career change, and d) lack of guidance or support. Keywords: Mental stress, Travel agency, Tour operator, Thematic analysis, Triangulation Dr. Satyajit Sinha Principal Advisor Kangsabati Agri Adventure Park West Bengal, India Phone: +91 9002699217 Email: satyababai@gmail.com Dr. Bipithalal Balakrishnan Nair Assistant Professor Higher Colleges of Technology Fujairah, UAE Phone: +971 50 755 6194 Email: bnair@hct.ac.ae Satyajit Sinha is serving as the Principal Advisor of Kangsabati Agri Adventure Park, India; he has also served as an Assistant Professor at Lovely Professional University Punjab, India. As a Research Associate, he has worked on a major tourism project sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, Ministry of Education, New Delhi. Earlier in his career, he worked in various capacities in the Indian tourism industry. The author holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management from the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, Gwalior, satyababai@gmail.com bnair@hct.ac.ae e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 132 India, and a PhD in Tourism Management from the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, India. His publications include articles on Anatolia, Tourism Cities, Tourism Policy, and Archaeologies, among others. His research interests include spatial and social aspects of leisure and recreation, Tourism, Accessible Tourism, and Crisis Management. Dr. Bipithalal Balakrishnan Nair is an Assistant Professor at the Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE. She is a transdisciplinary researcher in Tourism Studies with particular interests in postcolonialism and colonial nostalgia, worldmaking normalizations, creative management/development practices in tourism politics, sustainability, and a special interest in tourism. Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has spread worldwide, posing enormous difficulties to personal and professional lives. Tourists and stakeholders alike suffer from the continuous halt in tourism in many areas of the globe, which is detrimental to economies and adversely impacts mental health (Chen, 2021). Mental health and well-being are significant reasons for the industry's fragility, particularly among employees of the hotel and tourism industries. In contrast to prior outbreaks, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a global effect (Kimbu et al., 2023). According to Dileep et al. (2022), mental health and well-being are vital, particularly among those employed in travel and tourism, due to the apparent fragility of the tourism industry. However, the literature does not adequately address tourism workforces' subjective well-being and mental health, which is undoubtedly salient for intermediary travel businesses. Dayour et al. (2020) and Kimbu et al. (2023) further stated that the economic, societal, and psychological toll of the COVID-19 crisis might be worse in tourist destinations in emerging economies. Micro, small, and medium-sized companies (MSMEs) are more prevalent in developing countries; they generally employ old staff for the long haul and have few options for hiring new personnel. This might contribute to the psychological and socioeconomic stress caused by COVID-19-induced redundancies and is the case in most intermediary firms, except a small e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 133 percentage of multinational companies (MNCs). Intermediaries are the core of the tourism sector and one of the more severely affected segments due to the pandemic. Travel operators or travel agencies are heavily dependent on tourists compared to the numerous other industries associated with the tourism sector. Therefore, these firms are under severe stress due to the series of waves of the COVID-19 pandemic (Do et al., 2022). India is an emerging tourist destination in Asia, and in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, the country's tourism and travel industries saw enormous expansion (Nair & Sinha, 2020; Nair et al., 2022). Tourism is one of the most significant contributions to the Indian GDP, and its resurgence is closely tied to the country’s ability to maintain its economic viability (Dash & Sharma, 2021). Thus, this study intends to understand the psychological impacts of tourism intermediaries in India. It deliberately concentrates on tour operators because they are critical to tourism growth in the nation. During this pandemic, travel service providers are more susceptible to emotional distress than the general population because of the greater risk of job loss, decreased or complete halt in tourist flow, and fear of taking care of families and dependents (Kafle et al., 2021; Nair et al., 2022). This study will contribute to filling the present gap in the literature by providing insights into a thorough understanding of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, not only for the adaptation of business strategies and the transition of current advances but also by providing insights into best practices and how they can be implemented. The study aims to provide inimitable evidence of conglomeration in the crisis response of firms within industries. As a result, the findings of this study have significant ramifications for tourism organizations and business owners, especially in developing nations. e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 134 Literature Review COVID-19 and Travel Industry Tourism is a vulnerable industry highly susceptible to uncertainty and crises due to its fragile and sensitive structure (Islam et al., 2023; Ozkoc & Caliskan, 2020; Pforr & Hosie, 2008). The tourism ecosystem has been dampened by terrorism, war, social tension, and public health crises over the past few years, as shown by the significant impact of crises. Significant interdependence exists between the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries (Baum et al., 2020). According to the World Bank, travel agencies, tour operators, and online travel companies have been severely affected by COVID-19 (World Bank, 2020). Depending on the degree of economic dependence on tourism and their resilience, individual countries and destinations have experienced varying economic impacts from the slump in travel and tourism. Furthermore, this variation is primarily based on demand dynamics in nations' key source markets. Against the backdrop of declining travel demand, tour operators globally face unprecedented stress (World Bank, 2020), as tourists are the lifeline of travel intermediaries (Naidoo, 2019). (Baum & Hai, 2020) suggest that the economic upheaval of COVID-19 has made it almost impossible for workers in the tourism sector to obtain decent work, as per the standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO). The result is widespread retrenchment, often with little or no compensation. There have been anecdotal reports of prominent corporations in the tourism industry violating workers' rights without apparent concern (Baum & Hai, 2020). In the aftermath of the crisis, it remains to be seen if the lost workers will return to serve tourists. Due to tourism's labor-intensive nature, it is imperative to monitor employees' mental well-being, strength, and response during crises (Sönmez et al., 2017). e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 135 Liem & Liem (1978) argues that psychological well-being is affected by economic change and unemployment through social networks. Theoretically, unemployment is not expected to aggravate socio-psychological issues but to worsen mental health, damaging personal productivity. Psychological well-being and employment outcomes can be integrated via a 'behavioral' macroeconomic model (Darity & Goldsmith, 1996). Consequently, job insecurity caused by the pandemic has drastically reduced job motivation among tourism and hospitality employees. This has led to higher turnover intentions and limited options for job selection, resulting in mental and physical health problems (Demirović Bajrami et al., 2021). Hence, the mental health, well-being, and psychological stress of tourism intermediaries during the COVID-19 pandemic may be compromised. Psychological Impact on the Tourism Workforce To consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health (Buckley et al., 2021; Roy et al., 2021), well-being (Stanz & Weber, 2021; Tanucan & Bojos, 2021), and psychological stress (Yan et al., 2021) of tourism industry employees are considered as three interrelated tiers in our theoretical framework. As epidemics spread, people with mental health conditions are generally among those most affected (Chatterjee et al., 2020). Moreover, most studies identify job loss as the leading cause of psychological illness (Crayne, 2020). Therefore, the poorer mental health observed among unemployed people can be attributed to unemployment and existing mental health issues (Olesen et al., 2013). In the wake of COVID-19, 120 million direct tourism jobs have been eliminated (Sigala, 2020). According to research, unemployment is associated with decreased well-being for unemployed individuals (Winkelmann, 2009). A consequence of COVID-19 is psychological contract breaches in the tourism industry, resulting in distrust and turnover intentions (Abdalla et al., 2021). e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 136 There are different aspects of psychological well-being depending on one’s school of thought, and the understanding of well-being can vary according to the context of the study (Ryff, 2019). Well-being is one of the most significant contributors to happiness (Nisbet et al., 2011). Empirically and theoretically, psychological well-being (PWB) is more comprehensive than other dimensions (Agarwal, 2021). The premise behind PWB is that individuals strive to function fully, realize their unique talents, and predict variance in employee performance (Wright & Cropanzano, 2004). Kundi et al. (2021) argue that psychological well-being is associated with employee performance through affective commitment. According to a series of studies, individuals with job insecurity are likely to experience lower levels of psychological well-being (Clair et al., 2021; Meyer et al., 2021; Warr, 1984; Witte, 1999). The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 caused massive job losses in Asia’s tourism and hospitality sectors (Sarwar et al., 2020) and around the globe (Alrawadieh et al., 2021). Tourism professionals have suffered from psychological trauma due to the loss of their jobs and the stress of finding work in the future, resulting in poor mental and psychological health (Crayne, 2020; Posel et al., 2021). As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can contribute to his or her community. Equivocal evidence exists regarding job loss and mental health and is supported by empirical studies over time (Olesen et al., 2013; Ruengorn et al., 2021; Sharma et al., 2021; Vinokur et al., 2000). In the tourism industry, a reduction in job offers, job acceptances, and internship gaps are causing severe stress among the younger generation and affecting their mental health (Dragun et al., 2020; Dwyer, 2020). According to a study, individuals who worked during the COVID-19 lockdown experienced e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 137 significantly less depression than their laid-off counterparts (Posel et al., 2021) claim that employed individuals also enjoyed accumulating benefits over time, highlighting the impact of unemployment on mental health. Psychological stress consists of the stress, strain, or pressure experienced by individuals from various sources, including live events, jobs, or finances (Kuo et al., 2019). Individuals are experiencing psychological stress due to COVID-19-related economic downturns, such as job losses that were not anticipated (Lawson et al., 2020). This Study revealed that unemployed, terminated, or furloughed tourism employees were exposed to extreme psychological stress as they struggled to manage the after-effects of unemployment, such as taking care of children and family. They mainly relied on family support due to inadequate state supplies (Karsavuran, 2021). Current Studies on Travel Intermediaries A tourism distribution channel primarily comprises intermediaries providing tourists with information and transaction mechanisms, bundling and promoting tourism products to consumers (Hudson, 2008; Sharma et al., 2021). Travel agents and tour operators are the main elements of travel intermediaries, while tour operators are primarily concerned with inbound and outbound tourism and co-create value in the tourism supply chain (Lin, 2016). Despite travel intermediaries influencing tourism globally, the pandemic severely affected them (Dale et al., 2021). Many studies have considered the role of travel intermediaries, ranging from their corporate social responsibility structure (Araña & León, 2021; Darville & Faccia, 2020; Ibarnia et al., 2020), their responsibilities (Cannataci et al., 2020), their social networking structures (Valeri & Baggio, 2021; Walsh & Dodds, 2022), their relationship with hotel innovation (Romero & e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 138 Tejada, 2020), their role in value creation (Costa Climent & Haftor, 2021) and others. However, no attention has been paid to their mental well-being. In the literature, there is evidence that job uncertainty negatively influences psychological well-being (Blustein & Guarino, 2020; Escudero-Castillo et al., 2021; Mousteri et al., 2018), but there is a dearth of empirical studies focusing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental well-being of tourism intermediaries. Additionally, research should be carried out to collect data over an extended period to generate more robust theoretical contributions (Filep et al., 2022). Methodology Qualitative techniques may provide essential insights into emerging issues requiring more investigation and explanation (Corbin, 1998; Seidel & Urquhart, 2016). This study adopted a triangulation approach for data collection by incorporating primary and secondary resources. Triangulation is a term that refers to the process of using various methodologies or data sources in qualitative research to get a holistic picture of issues. Triangulation is also a qualitative research strategy for determining validity by combining data from disparate sources (MQ Patton, 1991; Patton & Cordray, 1990). Primary data tools include in-depth interviews (n=5) and semi-structured interviews (n=12) with people working in small-scale and multinational businesses in India's travel and tourism industry. Each interview was conducted online via Zoom; the approximate duration was between 30 minutes to one hour. Interview questions were formed based on the literature review, moderated by two external reviewers. In-depth interviews were open and unstructured, followed by the question bank. Snowball sampling was used to select the candidates. 26 SMEs were contacted, and 17 of them agreed to participate. Secondary data sources were newspaper articles and official reports about travel intermediaries in India amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Both primary and secondary samples were e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 139 collected through purposive sampling. The data collection process was stopped once no fresh understanding occurred. Data analysis was conducted by reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019). When performing qualitative data analysis, reflexive thematic analysis is a simple and theoretically flexible interpretive strategy that makes it easier to identify and analyse themes or patterns in each data set. There were 87 initial codes identified, which were classified under 12 subthemes and four main themes. Findings and Discussion Employees are bombarded with many issues that are detrimental to their emotional well-being during these turbulent times. Workers in the tourism industry are particularly concerned about this issue, as they depend heavily on travel and tourism activities. The findings of this study have uncovered some very general to specific psychological issues within tourism intermediaries in India amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been categorised under four main themes: a) common psychological issues in the working population, b) unreliable employment, c) pressure for a career change, and d) lack of guidance or support. Table 1: Participants Profile Participants Position Age (in years) Type of Company Years of Experience P1 Senior Manager 38 MNC (Online) 14 P2 Director 42 Offline 16 P3 Managing Director 48 Domestic (Offline) 27 P4 Tour Escort 35 MICE 13 P5 Manager-Sales 33 MNC (Online) 11 P6 Associate Vice President 45 MICE 24 P7 Manager 39 MNC (Online) 17 e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 140 P8 Managing Director 52 Domestic (Offline) 29 P9 Chief Operating Officer 57 MICE 34 P10 Manager 37 Domestic (Offline) 12 a) Common psychological issues in the working population Regarding mental health, the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated the risk factors commonly associated with poor mental health, such as financial insecurity, unemployment, and fear, while decreasing protective factors, such as social relationships, work opportunities, and academic interaction, participation in physical activity, a daily routine and access to health services. This has resulted in an extensive and unparalleled deterioration of the general public's mental health. A tendency that predates the pandemic but seems to have intensified in certain situations was found: the mental health of jobless persons and those facing financial instability was poorer than that of the overall population across nations. There were several issues among intermediary travel workers, similar to the global workforce. For example, a lack of social contact, fear of infection, trauma related to working from home, and loneliness. Working from home may cause a blurring of work and family commitments, as workers deal with extra domestic tasks and caregiving responsibilities, such as home-schooling and child-care obligations. This inconvenience puts extra pressure on the well-being and productivity of employees. These are the common issues raised worldwide (OECD, 2021). However, tourism firms and employees faced a different level of stress due to the COVID- 19 crisis. Specifically, tour operators and travel agents faced exceptional times, resulting in job losses, salary cuts, and unpaid jobs, leading to psychological trauma. Due to the nature of their business, intermediary firms have minimal options other than tourism. The continued travel and e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 141 international flight bans created a dismal situation. Participants who are married and with older parents mentioned the harshness they faced: We had been crushed beyond repair. Property belonging to our hard work was left neglected. They were left to fend for themselves. We were heartbroken to learn that we could not afford to compensate our workers or give them additional financial aid. There was no income. We already had a problem with a loan. The government imposed a moratorium on new loans; this was insufficient to prevent default. On the one hand, it was not being able to go out and take care of our possessions that had [traumatised] us. On the other hand, we were concerned since we could not do much to aid our neighbours. As a result, there was also a dread of the illness. Many of our staff had to be let go. [Participant 07] The duration of the pandemic, revolving around uncertainty, a series of waves, travel bans, and COVID-19 protocols, has worsened the situation for travel intermediaries in India. Some other everyday matters were also identified, such as fear of infection (individual and family members). According to their occupation, people working in service industries during the pandemic might perceive a varied danger of infection. Frontline tourism and hospitality workers need face-to-face interaction and intimate physical contact with customers, which enhances the likelihood of being exposed during the pandemic because of the nature of the virus (Barbieri et al., 2020; Sinha & Nair, 2021). One of the main outcomes of this study is that the level and type of psychological issues vary based on their location, age, family commitment, and financial security. One's financial worries increase when one cannot take care of basic expenses and commitments. When people do not have to stress about how they will pay their bills, they are able to focus on other aspects of their lives and their relationships with others, and this boosts their social and mental health. e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 142 Financially secure people are in a better position to satisfy these requirements, which in turn improves their social and psychological status. Similar to social anxiety, financial anxiety is the dread that you will not be able to satisfy your financial and social commitments. This was more common among the travel intermediaries in the remote regions than in the city areas. b) Unreliable employment One of the significant concerns raised by the interviewees was the stress due to the nature of circumstantial, undependable aspects of the travel intermediary business as a livelihood. Unfortunately, the actuality is that several travel firms will be unable to bear the financial implications of COVID-19 due to various factors. As stated in the introduction, most intermediary firms in India are SMEs; they have suffered a great deal due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many businesses have tried to survive through staff reductions, redundancies, unpaid leave, or hourly work. Interviewees in mid-senior level jobs listed many reasons for this general impression about tourism jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of them unanimously underlined overcapitalization and uncertainties due to the series of pandemic waves as the main reason: When will it stop to harm us? When will we receive clients like before? After finishing the first and second waves in India, we were back to normal. Receiving bookings, we thought it was a ray of hope. However, it still has not ended; no money left to survive for many similar businesses; some of us have already decided to stop this enterprise. [Participant 08] Many intermediate firms were forced to close in big cities when the first three months of the COVID-19 outbreak occurred. When one considers the nature of the sector, oversupply and a e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 143 lack of viable alternatives for investment are the two most pressing issues that enterprises currently face. During the second wave, barely 10% of the sector’s intermediate enterprises were still operating. Despite most of them being made redundant, these circumstances demonstrate a significant shift in the industry’s future labour and skills needs: We all are under pressure to realise the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company. It is scary; we feel that we will lose the job soon. Small companies like us cannot survive since competition is high and not much of bookings are going on. [Participant 08] Their level of job uncertainty influences people's overall well-being and work-related stress. The fear of losing one's job has been cited as a significant source of workplace anxiety in a slew of research. Studies have shown that job uncertainty directly impacts psychological discomfort, independent of other circumstances, work-related elements, and personal characteristics (Tennant, 2001). As demonstrated by this study, job uncertainty and stress symptoms are linked. For some researchers, job instability is a significant source of anxiety (De Witte et al., 2016). In the informal economy, workers have fewer safeguards, such as health insurance and retirement benefits. There is a higher risk of COVID-19 infection for workers who remain on the job in the hospitality industry, which includes the hotel and airline businesses. Employees at transportation and tourism businesses in the area are being asked to take an unpaid vacation, accept salary cuts, or perhaps be let off. The COVID-19 pandemic is an extreme example of an event that has the potential to demoralize workers and cause the company to lose their trust. This research indicated that there is a negative relationship between the perceived danger of COVID-19 and job satisfaction, suggesting that the tragedy has a significant effect on workers' happiness on the job. This result agrees with other research on the effects of catastrophes on people's mental health. e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 144 c) Pressure for a career change This theme has been refined from the data and can be considered as the aftermath of job insecurity and related stress. This study emphasises the psychological trauma among intermediary workers, especially those with family responsibilities. However, the expression of a career change was recognised among younger employees or those who were at the early or mid-level stages of their career; senior people expressed a desire to continue in the same sector: I learned a lesson due to COVID-19. It was my passion to start up a business in travel and tourism after my graduation. It worked well for the first two years. However, this pandemic revealed the vulnerability of the industry I am currently in, so I plan to shift my job or start another plan to generate a stable income. [Participant 10] At this juncture, these findings agree with the views of Yıldırım & Güler (2022). They identified that COVID-19 had induced alterations in risk perception, which is likely to affect individuals’ behaviour. However, this is not a new idea. As (Kanfer et al., 2001) discoursed, it is not unknown for young people, during recessions or situations of crisis, to be concerned about their career opportunities. The fear of losing one’s job because of the COVID-19 pandemic is steadily growing (Mahmud et al., 2021; Nair et al., 2022); in this way, anxiety develops into despair, and the workforce finds itself in an unimaginably difficult situation. Many employees cannot report to work or fulfil their jobs due to travel restrictions, border closures, and quarantine processes, which impacts wages, particularly for informal and contractual workers. Businesses are likely to postpone investments, purchases, and recruitment in the current climate of uncertainty and concern. In terms of making a career change, participants had a range of opinions. The travel-intermediary industry, particularly its contractual employees, is now seeing enormous employment transitions, which they all agree is a trend worth watching. Changes are e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 145 being fuelled by the uncertainty that still lingers. Angry and exasperated workers are the outcome of the absence of money and the fear of COVID-19. A new low was attained in terms of both unemployment and lost wages. In keeping with the general trend, the financial crisis affected the tourist sector and saw an alarming increase in unemployed people (Nair et al., 2022). It is well documented that the COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread fear among workers, which was compounded further by the lack of social assistance that resulted from the high number of unemployed, particularly women and young people. Even though most business owners had already taken responsibility for payments, their anxiety grew as they began to see their properties closed due to mounting debts. As a result, worry was a familiar feeling among those involved. Employees were frustrated and irritated due to their lack of revenue and their fear of COVID-19. According to Chen (2020), the COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread fear in the workplace, and the lack of social support owing to high unemployment made matters worse, particularly for young people. Even while most owners had already relieved themselves of the burden of payments, their fears grew as they saw their properties shut down owing to increasing debts. As a result, worry also emerged as a common feeling among those involved. All these circumstances eventually point to the trend in career changes. When the first lockdown was declared, staff accepted it and adjusted within a few weeks. The psychological anguish of personnel was exacerbated by a lack of assistance, particularly among women and youth (Chen, 2021). There was a significant decrease in stress, tension, aggravation, and irritability among both staff and owners, and they were looking for new ways to make money. Some small- scale tourist entrepreneurs started other enterprises to make a profit. Due to poor upkeep, many of the owners of houseboats and homestays were concerned about how much money they would need to fix their properties before reopening for business. e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 146 d) Lack of guidance or support Indeed, this finding further reveals the vulnerability of the tourism sector to the COVID-19 crisis. This is especially true for developing countries, although the COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented crisis globally. The workers in travel intermediary firms are generally employed informally, where they face severe issues, including lack of support or guidance. This situation is further explained by the International Labour Organization (ILO) (2022): jobs in the informal sector are defined by a lack of essential protection, including social welfare coverage and benefits. Workers who continue to work in hotels, airlines, or other hospitality sectors are more likely than other workers to contract COVID-19 because they do not have the choice of working remotely. Those who do become ill may find themselves at a disadvantage in terms of access to healthcare facilities and have no means of recouping their salary if they are forced to quit working due to illness or lockdowns. Lack of government support is also highlighted as a significant point, which further fuels the psychological stress of the tourism workforce, especially those in the intermediary business. Since tourism sector jobs are not generally listed under a category that receives government aid, a sense of job insecurity is created among the workers. It is critical to look further than this and take some steps to gain knowledge from the dilemma that has disclosed gaps in both government and industry preparedness and response capacity. While adaptable policy solutions are required to enable the tourism economy to coexist with the virus in the short to medium term, it is also essential to look beyond this and take steps to learn from the crisis (Dileep et al., 2022). Actions must be coordinated across all levels of government as well as the commercial sector. As a result of the crisis, governments at all levels must take decisive and coordinated policy action in order to lessen the effects of the crisis and assist with the recovery process. e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 147 Conclusion This study examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the travel intermediary's mental well-being. It explores several psychological stresses on this workforce due to a lack of business, and the findings agree with a recent study (Chen, 2021). COVID-19 has significantly impacted tourism and continues to affect it, with revenues dropping by more than 64% (UNWTO, 2020). This impacted destinations, residents, and visitors alike, and it appears to focus on key players attempting to withstand the effects of COVID-19 (Pocinho et al., 2022). This study also identified general issues. However, the core issues lie with the characteristics of the tourism sector, the skill level of the workforce, job security, and the ability to resilience. It was observed that both workers and business owners experienced symptoms of irritability, annoyance, despair, and anxiety. The second step consisted mostly of looking for other employment opportunities. Those with a stake in the tourism industry eventually came to terms with how precarious their circumstances were and, as a result, started looking for other ways to make money. The major emphasis shifted from panic and worry to the prospect of finding other possibilities to make cash, which helped reduce frustration and helplessness. The vast majority of people who sought work could locate fulfilling jobs, either part-time or full-time, that provided at least some level of financial assistance. The pandemic poses a danger to most tourism-related activities, many other industries, and all of humanity. Therefore, the aftermath and stress caused by the pandemic also depend on the nature of a business. Job insecurity and other job-related issues are prominent, leading to anxiety and stress. To this end, this research provides several implications both for theory and practice. It has found that studies about the mental health and well-being of the tourism workforce in the context of the pandemic are still in their infancy. Therefore, it is an excellent opportunity for governments e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol.20, No. 1, 2023 148 and policymakers to consider an innovative strategy to support them. This work provides major advancements in both the understanding and use of response-to-crisis methodologies in tourist research. Its conclusions have functional management and policymaker implications in times of unprecedented emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also a chance to use newly developed technology, put green recovery plans into action, and transition to policies and corporate practices that more effectively balance the environmental, social, and financial aspects of tourism. The decision-makers in charge of public policy should use the chance to relaunch the economy of tourism on a foundation that is more robust, equitable, and environmentally friendly. The current crisis, as well as the measures for recovery that are already being put into place, provide a once- in-a-lifetime chance to shift toward more robust and sustainable types of tourist growth. Throughout the whole crisis, the various stakeholders provided priority to overseas travellers. On the other hand, they were aware of how important it was to strike a healthy balance between the domestic and international markets. The findings of this study have several implications, not only for tourism organizations, national governments, and those who formulate public policy but also for other significant actors in the industry. Furthermore, these findings highlight the importance of more context-specific research since economies vary. Hence, it is highly recommended that adequate case studies are conducted in different scenarios for a deeper insight into this matter. Although tourism is among the industries that are most susceptible to the effects of the crisis, enterprises that are involved in tourism in emerging economies are extremely vulnerable, as this research has further shown. It is useful to identify the conditions of emergency preparedness that are particular to stage four using psychology modeling. These prerequisites include lethargy, impatience, and compassion. 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