Importance of strategic planning in the development of tourist travel agencies in Metropolitan Lima

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted global tourism, particularly affecting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. This study examines the strategic planning dimensions that enabled tourism agencies in Lima, Peru, to maintain operational resilience during the 2021 crisis period. Through a cross-sectional quantitative analysis of 85 tourism agency managers, we employed Chi-square tests to assess associations between strategic planning components and organizational development outcomes. Our findings reveal that diagnostic tools (SWOT analysis), vision alignment, and operational strategies demonstrated significant positive associations with both economic development and competitive performance. Conversely, ethical codes showed statistical independence from performance indicators, challenging conventional wisdom regarding ethics-performance relationships during crisis periods. These results suggest a hierarchical prioritization of strategic elements during survival-threatening scenarios, where "hard" operational attributes supersede "soft" ethical considerations in short-term organizational resilience. The study contributes to strategic management literature by demonstrating context-dependent variations in the ethics-performance nexus, particularly relevant for emerging market enterprises facing external shocks. Implications for practitioners emphasize the critical role of formal planning processes as organizational shields rather than bureaucratic formalities during crisis periods.