BASIQ 2022 International Conference on New Trends in Sustainable Business and Consumption Customers’ Perception of the Risks Associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Romanian Hospitality Industry Lavinia Denisia Cuc 1 , Andrea Feher 2 , Silviu Gabriel Szentesi 3 and Paul Nichita Cuc 4 1)3) Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, Romania. 2) Banat's University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine” King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Romania and Romanian Academy, Branch of Timisoara, Romania. 4) University College London, United Kingdom. E-mail: laviniacuc@yahoo.com; E-mail: andreafeher@usab-tm.ro E-mail: silviuszentesi@yahoo.com; E-mail: paulnichitacuc@gmail.com Please cite this paper as: Cuc, L.D., Feher, A., Szentesi, S.G. and Cuc P.N.,2022. Customers’ Perception of the Risks Associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Romanian Hospitality Industry. In: R. Pamfilie, V. Dinu, C. Vasiliu, D. Pleșea, L. Tăchiciu eds. 2022. 8 th BASIQ International Conference on New Trends in Sustainable Business and Consumption. Graz, Austria, 25-27 May 2022. Bucharest: ASE, pp.238-244. DOI: 10.24818/BASIQ/2022/08/031 Abstract The purpose of this study is to analyse consumers' perceptions of the risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the Romanian hospitality industry. To this end, a quantitative research was conducted using an online survey, based on a questionnaire with a number of 12 questions, administered to customers of units in the hospitality industry (hotels, restaurants, cafes). A total of 292 respondents (103 men and 189 women) answered all questions. Four working hypotheses were formulated. It was concluded that the extent of the safety measures taken by the units in the Romanian hospitality industry had a positive impact on customers. The perception of the measures is a positive one and the customers do not feel any fear or significant threat regarding the possibility of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in these units. The risk perceived by customers, in various forms, is not an obstacle in blocking the demand and development of the hospitality industry. The study helps to broaden the understanding of the behavioural effects of clients during a pandemic and it is good to know this behaviour of customers in another unpredictable scenario of the evolution of the spread of COVID-19 disease. The study conducted in Romania can be used as a bench- mark for other countries and researchers. Keywords risk, COVID-19 pandemic, customer perception, hospitality industry DOI: 10.24818/BASIQ/2022/08/031 Introduction In December 2019, a pneumonia outbreak with an unknown source broke out in Wuhan city in China. The World Health Organization then classified the virus as the new coronavirus disease COVID-19 in February 2020. The pandemic spread globally as a result of international tourists returning to their home countries after visiting infected areas. Cases of COVID-19 have been increasing very rapidly globally on a daily basis. This has resulted in increasing global economic anxiety (Fetzer et al., 2021), which has had a significant impact on the hospitality industry (Faroudi et al., 2021), created uncertainty and negative perception on the hospitality industry, tourism and travel destinations due to the need for global quarantine and severe restrictions on movement. The restaurant industry has been heavily impacted financially by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions caused by it (Byrd et al., 2021). In the wake of the global health pandemic and its devastating impact on every industry, particularly in the hospitality industry, there have been calls for systematic, theoretically driven research into customers' perceived health risk so that hospitality managers can develop and implement health-related risks (Faroudi et al., 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic is widely regarded as a significant negative issue in a particularly difficult time for global tourism. However, studies are quite few on how previous and potential new customers behave when considering the use of hospitality services. Moreover, it is essential to investigate how the pandemic is reshaping the consumption landscape 238