Crises are an inevitable element of corporate life. Structured crisis management can reduce the impact, duration and cost of a crisis. The hospitality industry, which is part of the large tourism industry, is particularly prone to external shocks beyond the control of its managers, which was especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. An extreme and sharp drop in demand is one of the likely consequences of these external shocks. The serious negative effects of crises and disasters have highlighted the need for proactive business planning within the industry both in Croatia and around the world. However, with the increase in turbulence in the global environment, strategic thinking in the hospitality industry is becoming increasingly important. Managers must consider advanced strategic approaches to successfully address challenges. These strategic approaches are based on generally accepted methods of crisis management, which is divided into the basic phases of reduction, preparedness, response and recovery. Every aspect of these phases must be filled with specifics for each type of catering trade in order to successfully respond to the measures predetermined by social distancing. During the elaboration of the problem of social distancing in catering trades, a situational analysis of the current situation will be presented with the help of a case study analysis of different types of catering trades in Istria and predictions for the future. The SWOT analysis will show the advantages of the existence of crisis management strategies within the sector that is able to respond readily to the envisaged measures of maintaining social distance with minimal possible impact on the quality of business and with partial preservation of the financial situation. A plan of proposals will be presented to help solve the problem of social distancing and the benefits that would result from the short-term, medium-term and long-term implementation of the same proposals. In conclusion, the future of the hospitality sector and the preservation of the quality of business of catering facilities certainly depends on the possibility of business management by applying measures of social distancing. Therefore, in cooperation with the local community, the Government, catering managers and their workers must respond to the demands of social distancing with strategies of social distancing and measures to prevent the spread of COVID - 19 pandemics.