Tourism Culture & Communication

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Volume 23, Numbers 2-3

SPECIAL ISSUE
IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON CULTURAL TOURISM
Guest Editors: Claire Wallace, Joyce Chen, Stephanie Garrison, and John Shaddock

Introduction: The Impact of COVID-19 n Cultural Tourism – 87
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683508

Claire Wallace,* Xiaoqing Chen,† Stephanie Garrison,* and John Shaddock*

*School of Social Science, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
†Business School, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK

The coronavirus pandemic (SARS-CoV-2) has been disastrous for cultural tourism worldwide as many cultural tourist venues are concentrated in cities and have had to close along with tourism-related facilities such as hospitality businesses and hotels. There has been a widespread fear of travel and social contact. The comparative research drawn upon in this article suggests that new trends might be emerging with rural and natural attractions becoming more prominent and a rise in domestic tourism due to the problems of foreign travel. This is associated with increased use of individualized travel and self-catering facilities. There has been a resultant rediscovery of more local scenery and attractions. The greater use of information technology can enhance tourism under these conditions and this is likely a permanent shift. Our research shows how these shifts emerged over the course of different lockdowns. Comparative research suggests that new trends and directions might emerge instead of a postpandemic reset to what existed before.

Key words: COVID-19; Cultural tourism; Pandemic; Digital tourism

Google Trends Confirms COVID-19 Impact on Tourist Industry – 97
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683418

Sybille Menzel,* Steffen Springer,† Michael Zieger,† and Artur Strzelecki‡

*FeWo Watzmann-Menzel, Berchtesgaden, Germany
†SRH Wald-Klinikum Gera GmbH, Germany
‡Department of Informatics, University of Economics in Katowice, Poland

The coronavirus pandemic is having a dramatic impact on human health, societies, the global economy, and also the tourism industry. Google Trends has already been introduced as a study tool for scientific research in various fields, such as tourism. In this study, Google Trends data were collected to confirm the impact of COVID-19 on tourism. Google Trends data were analyzed with a weekly data resolution for the past 5 years. The region was selected as worldwide and all categories were set. Google Trends data were used to compare search interest among the world population for relevant English search topics. The results suggest that Google Trends is a valuable tool for monitoring and confirming the effects of major events of global concern, such as COVID-19. Differences between varied business models within the tourism industry could also be shown. This study supports the results of previous research to better understand the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy. Results underline the importance and duration of the COVID-19 effect in various areas of the global tourism industry.

Key words: Google Trends; COVID-19; Search engine data; Online travel agencies

Escaping COVID-19 Through Webcam-Travel: An Application of the Social Psychological Model of Tourism Motivation – 103
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683391

David Jarratt and Sean J. Gammon

The School of Business, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, UK

The use of webcams to virtually visit destinations has, over the last decade, generated much interest—none more so than during the COVID-19 lockdowns. As countless millions across the globe were forced to stay at home, the practice of webcam-travel significantly increased, with preliminary studies finding the key drivers for the growth in usage to be freedom, nostalgia, and connectiveness. However, it was unclear to what extent that such practice was born from a desire to escape from the lockdown experience or to seek out (virtually) new and familiar places. In order to explore this further the Social Psychological Model of Tourism Motivation (SPTMTM) was applied to findings related to webcam use during lockdown, which indicate that users were both escaping environments they found stressful and/or demanding, while at the same time seeking out specific compensatory environments that collectively helped in coping with lockdown restrictions. Furthermore, the model brought attention to the often hidden interpersonal components that impact upon the push and pull factors associated with webcam-travel, introducing and augmenting concepts such as virtual flânerie and anthropomorphic parasocial relationships.

Key words: Webcam-travel; Escape; Social Psychological Model of Tourism Motivation (SPTM); Virtual flânerie; Parasocial relationships

Visitor Behavior in Museums in Times of COVID-19 – 113
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683355

Núria Galí, Dolors Vidal, and Laura Perpiña

Faculty of Tourism, University of Girona, Girona, Spain

This research aims to better understand the circumstances of museums in times of COVID-19 and investigate the reopening of museums as physical spaces for visitors’ experience. The influence of visitors’ sociodemographic and tripographic characteristics on visitor behavior, safety measures implemented by museums, and visitation experience were examined in two major art museums in Catalonia (Spain): the Dalí-Theatre Museum and the Picasso Museum. Participants (879) were selected following systematic random sampling at the museum exit gates. A quantitative analysis of the data was performed using Pearson and ANOVA and the participants’ profiles are presented. Findings indicate significant relationships between visitors’ characteristics and visitor behavior, safety measures, and visitation experience, with place of residence showing a positive influence on all three. Museums complied with specific safety regulations due to COVID-19, and in this context, the findings revealed that visitors slightly changed their visitor behavior in museums. Most visitors positively evaluated the key aspects of museum management relating to health and safety and social distancing. Age, nationality, and personal experience were found to influence visitor behavior in museums. Specific effects of each characteristic are further analyzed. Theoretical and practical implications and suggestions for future research studies are also discussed. Marketing activities will benefit from knowing, in detail, the visitors’ characteristics—information that can be used to target niches. Finally, the cultural industry has a social function and supporting the digitalization of museum organizations is crucial to the dissemination of culture.

Key words: COVID-19; Museums; Visitor behavior; Safety measures

The Pandemic as a Challenge for the Diversification for the Diversification of Tourism – 131
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683409

Hilda Kramáreková,* Lucia Petrikovičová,* Alfred Krogmann,* and Henrich Grežo†

*Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Regional Development, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Informatics, Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra, Slovak Republic
†Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Informatics, Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra, Slovak Republic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant global impact on tourism. During the period of restricted travel between the countries, the segment of leisure activities in the regional city of Nitra (Slovakia) also gradually diversified. For the city, traditional events such as visits to theaters, museums, galleries, or trade fairs were halted and later moved online. The offer of activities has expanded to include the previously unnoticed objects of anthropogenic origin, which present the industrial history of the city and also point to the growth of the city. These objects are gradually transformed from the original production function to objects with a nonproduction function. This article aims to identify such buildings as an alternative to other leisure time activities of the residents and visitors to the city of Nitra. We analyze and evaluate their usability in the area of tourism based on primary and secondary sources and field research. The results are formulated as a proposal to form two thematic routes through the city, which can be used in nonpandemic times.

Key words: Coronavirus crisis; “New” discovered objects; Diversification of tourism; Nitra (Slovakia)

The Domestic Turn in Postpandemic Indigenous Arctic Tourism: Emerging Stories of Self and Other – 151
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683337

Camilla Brattland,* Carina Ren,† Elsbeth Bembom,† and Randy Bruin*

*Department for Social Sciences, Arctic University of Norway, Tromso, Norway
†Department of Culture and Learning, Aalborg University, Copenhagen, Denmark

In this article, we explore how the lockdowns followed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent rise in domestic tourism impacted the ways in which Arctic tourism businesses sold and shared their experiences and stories to the domestic tourist—for many, a new and unusual guest. In exploring cases from Greenland and Northern Norway, we are interested in describing tourism marketing and product innovation in times of crisis, using this disruption into the usual market dynamics of Arctic tourism to reflect on postpandemic tourism opportunities. As we argue, tourism marketing and development may serve as a lens to shed new light on the often turbulent relationships between tourism actors in Arctic communities. As we show, this was the case in the summer of 2020, where increasing concerns, as well as new insights and experiences, surfaced in the emerging domestic tourism encounters. We argued that these exemplify potential new ways for more reciprocal encounters in Indigenous and Arctic tourism.

Key words: Domestic tourism; Arctic tourism; Indigenous tourism; Encounters; Identity

The Cocreation of a Pandemic Tourist Experience: The Case of Belitung, Indonesia – 163
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683445

Mohamad Robbith Subandi and Karolina Doughty

Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands

Even as the global tourism industry has begun to recover, the evolving COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact how tourism experiences are offered and consumed. This article contributes to the literature by illuminating how power operates around and through interactions in the experience cocreation, particularly in the time of COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on the way tourism experiences have been cocreated and influenced by what has been termed the ‘new normal’ for the tourism industry since the start of the pandemic. This article examined the impact of the pandemic on tourism experience cocreation on-site through exploring the construction and negotiation of the ‘pandemic gazes’ of hosts and tourists in a cultural tourism village on the Indonesian island destination of Belitung. Our findings identified 4 factors, namely Pandemic fatigue, Safe zone, Setting Impracticality and Convivial relations, which influenced how hosts and tourists (re)adjusted their pandemic gazes during their interactions in the experience cocreation process.

Key words: Experience cocreation; Host–guest relationship; Tourist gaze; Belitung; COVID-19 pandemic; Indonesia

Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Tourism Businesses in India: Operational and Strategic Measures Undertaken for Survival – 177
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683319

Prachi Jain Aggarwal,* Rahul Pratap Singh Kaurav,† and Dogan Gursoy‡

*Amity University, Noida, India
†FORE School of Management, New Delhi, India
‡School of Hospitality Business Management, Carson College of Business, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA

This study employs a qualitative research approach based on the premises of the Grounded Theory method to identify the impact of COVID-19 on travel businesses, especially on travel agencies, in India and investigates the various operational and strategic measures undertaken by those businesses to survive during the pandemic. Data for this study were collected from 40 travel agency businesses in India through structured interviews of representatives from various travel agencies and from secondary data sources such as interview articles, newspaper reports, and blogs. The results highlight the impacts of the pandemic on travel agency businesses and the measures being taken by those businesses to survive in the short run, sustain in the medium run, and thrive in the long run. Findings provide critical insights on the operational and strategic measures for policymakers and other stakeholders of the travel and hospitality industry for effective management and comeback from the pandemic’s effects. This research extends previous studies by focusing more specifically on tourism business organizations with different modes and scales of operations.

Key words: Travel agencies; Tourism business; COVID-19; Grounded theory; India

Risk Perception and Travel Behavior of Urban Residents in a Densely Populated Region of East India Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic – 193
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683364

Bidyut Kumar Ghosh* and Debasish Batabyal†

*Department of Commerce, Old TAPMI Building, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, India
†Travel & Tourism Management, Amity Institute of Travel and Tourism, Amity University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Travel risk perception and tourist behavior have been of paramount importance since the COVID-19 pandemic. As the nature, intensity, and consequences of these perceptions and behaviors vary, an extensive study on the perceptions of tourists’ attitudes toward COVID-19-associated travel risks and travel behaviors related with gender, age, and educational level is essential, particularly in East India, one of the world’s most densely populated urban areas. The major outcome incorporates logistic regression showing how traveling with family exhibits a different behavior during the COVID-19 outbreak, with distinctive gender-specific characteristics influencing future choices and travel decisions.

Key words: Risk perception; Travel behavior; Urban residents; Sociodemographic variables; Logistic regression

Media Tourism and COVID-19: An Empirical Investigation of the Impact f COVID-19 on the Scottish Tourism Industry – 207
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683373

Stephanie Garrison, Claire Wallace, And Xiaoqing Chen

School of Social Science, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK

The growth of Scotland’s creative industries within the last decade has resulted in a significant rise in media tourism, a subsector of cultural tourism that focuses on tourism inspired by media such as novels, films, and television series. In March 2020 when Scotland’s tourism and hospitality industry would typically be preparing to welcome visitors, the nation went into a national lockdown due to mounting concerns over the rapidly spreading coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). This “black swan event” brought Scotland’s tourism industry to a complete halt with government-mandated cessation of international travel, stay-at-home orders, and the closure of non-essential businesses going into effect. By drawing on qualitative interviews with Scotland-based tour operators and international travel bloggers, as well as examining the strategies of heritage and conservation charities and national tourism bodies this article explores how media tourism, as a main form of tourism in Scotland, was restructured during the pandemic. From these data, the authors consider three phases of the 2020 season beginning with an initial lockdown, which evolved into a stalled seasonal start and concluded with a truncated summer season. This article highlights the challenges presented to those in the industry and how these challenges were mitigated through the use of digital platforms from the creation of “virtual tours” and using social media for a “top of mind” marketing approach to the use of online booking platforms for track and trace and measuring visitor numbers. It then turns to explore the different strategies adopted to create a sustainable tourism model for reopening. In looking to the future of Scotland’s tourism industry, the article concludes with what the expectations are for the industry and recommendations for sustaining the industry in a postcoronavirus climate.

Key words: Coronavirus; Digital technologies; Media tourism; Popular culture

Cultural Tourism During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal – 219
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683427

Greg Richards* and Carlos Fernandes†

*Breda University of Applied Sciences, Breda, The Netherlands
†Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo (IPVC), Centro de Estudos Transdisciplinares para o Desenvolvimento (CETRAD), Viana do Castelo, Portugal

The COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic represented a significant break with previous patterns of cultural consumption, effectively halting the growth of “mass cultural tourism” driven by cheap flights and collaborative economy accommodation. Surveys conducted by the ATLAS Cultural Tourism Group in Portugal were used to develop a detailed picture of cultural tourism consumption during the pandemic. In 2020 and early 2021 surveys were conducted at different locations in the country, generating over 500 responses. The research shows that COVID-19 had significant impacts on the profile and activities of cultural tourists in Portugal, with much more domestic tourism at most sites, and fewer visitors staying away from home. Levels of satisfaction and intention to return remained high, as did perceived authenticity. There was a significant drop in touring holidays, with visitors more likely to stay in a single location. Those tourists visiting cultural attractions during the pandemic had a positive experience, despite the challenging conditions. Levels of satisfaction increased compared with previous surveys in Portugal in 2004, but there were also fluctuations in levels of satisfaction during the pandemic period, correlated with levels of COVID-19 infections. Some indications of emerging alternative forms of cultural tourism include an increased proclivity for rural locations and inland areas, away from destinations usually associated with mass (cultural) tourism. The article concludes by considering a number of implications for the development of cultural tourism in Portugal and other destinations in the postpandemic era.

Key words: Cultural tourism; COVID-19; Cultural experiences; Tourist profiles; Authenticity

The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Tourism Development in Peripheral Areas in Austria – 233
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683454

Jasmin Sandriester, Carmen Kern, and Jörn Harfst

Department of Geography and Regional Science, University of Graz, Graz, Austria

COVID-19 has greatly influenced and restricted people’s everyday lives worldwide, especially the freedom to travel and engage in tourism. In Austria, tourism contributes 7.5% to the country’s GDP, ranking it in the top one third of EU countries. Hence, the consequences of the pandemic have been significant. However, in contrast to the overall declining numbers in arrivals and overnight stays, domestic tourism has experienced a revival compared to 2019, with a +22.6% increase in overnight stays by Austrian guests in August 2020. Nevertheless, these trends have been unevenly distributed across Austrian regions. As the long-term consequences of COVID-19 on tourism are unclear, this article aims to provide a snapshot by analyzing the pandemic’s impact on selected Austrian regions as well as the district of Leoben, a small and peripheral tourism region. Based on quantitative and qualitative research, the article highlights the uneven geographical character of COVID-19’s impact on tourism and shows that more peripheral regions have indeed experienced short-term gains in regard to their visitor numbers—especially strengthening existing peaks. Nevertheless, there are questions regarding the sustainability of these trends because of the intrinsic deficits of these regions in terms of infrastructure and management capacities. Future research in this field should consider the unevenness of COVID-19’s impact while also analyzing (long-term) changes related to peripheral regions and their tourism development in post-COVID-19 times. A microanalysis on a municipal level could also be beneficial.

Key words: COVID-19 tourism impact; Peripheral areas; Tourism; Industrial regions/towns; Regional development

COVID-19 and the Impact on Cultural Tourism: The Case of Beit She’an Valley, Israel – 249
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683463

Michael Sofer,* Irit Shmuel,† Irit Amit-Cohen,* Anat Tchetchik,* Shilo Shiff,* and Yaron Michael*

*Department of Geography and Environment, Bar Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
†Hadassah Academic College, Tourism Studies, Jerusalem, Israel

Under the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in Israel, almost every taken-for-granted feature of the day-to-day life was affected. This phenomenon and its derived socioeconomic effects on cultural tourism have been investigated in a northern peripheral area, Beit She’an Valley, which includes a small urban municipality, Beit She’an town, and a regional council, Emek HaMaayanot (a rural municipality). The closure of heritage sites and almost every kind of public cultural venue has led to economic consequences such as absence of tourists, worker layoffs in the cultural tourism industry, and a wave of collapse of businesses. In order to understand the implications of the pandemic on the area, surveys were conducted among two local groups: business owners and residents. The findings show that 9 out of 10 businesses have been affected, yet few have received governmental support. A large number of business owners think that under the current circumstances, their business can be sustained only for several months. Residents reported that during the pandemic, they avoided public spaces and gatherings, visiting cultural sites much less often than before the pandemic. It is clear that both groups have to readjust their perception of tourist spaces and their activities. The changes that took place in tourism activities following the pandemic have led the owners of local businesses related to cultural tourism, as well as tour guides, to think of different ways to operate their activities. Interviews with a group of business owners suggest that new initiatives and survival strategies may have far-reaching implications for cultural tourism in the region and its characteristics. The findings of this research yield several recommendations regarding how to deal with similar crises in the future so that tourism activities at heritage sites will not be harmed.

Key words: COVID-19 impact; Cultural tourism; Survival strategies; Residents’ perception

The COVID-19 Pandemic in the Cyclades: Patterns and Prospects in Cultural Tourism – 263
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683481

Theano S. Terkenli and Vasiliki Georgoula

Department of Geography, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece

Until July 2021, the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic were severe for tourism-dependent countries, such as Greece, and particularly the Cyclades. The cultural sector and related activities, at the crux of Cycladic tourism industry, were especially hit by the pandemic. The rest of the 2021 tourist season, however, proved especially successful for Cycladic tourism, which poses the question of why and how a destination may survive—and even profit—from the pandemic. This article thus explores emerging Cyclades tourism patterns and prospects (in a case study of Andros, Syros, and Santorini), in the context of the anticipated postpandemic tourism regeneration. Methodologically, the study was based on: a) a series of in situ in-depth interviews with key informants, b) a questionnaire survey of tourists and related local businesses, and c) a focus group panel discussion with key local/regional stakeholders. The study was conducted between the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021, in the context of the SPOT HORIZON2020 EU project; the research design and data interpretation were enriched by participant observation and consultation of Trip Advisor websites. Findings show that the pandemic and its repercussions were grave for these islands, highly dependent on tourism based on a dominant small-and-medium enterprise tourism development model. Modes of travel, types of tourism, and visitors’ behavior were altogether affected, resulting in new patterns of (im)mobilities, while the role of culture was viewed as the destination’s “hope in the horizon” towards the reigniting and regeneration of smaller scale, creative, dispersed, and more sustainable tourism. However, great disparities also emerged between the current state and regenerative potential for local cultural tourism development. The study participants specifically emphasized that the private tourism sector had been left by the State to their own devices, and pointed to a lack of a) cultural infrastructure, b) public funding, and c) destination marketing/promotion.

Key words: Tourism-dependent destinations; Tourism trends; COVID-19 pandemic; Cultural tourism; Cyclades

The End of “Business as Usual”? Reimagining Barcelona Tourism After COVID-19 – 279
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683328

Danielle Bishop,* Montserrat Pareja-Eastaway,* and Montserrat Simó Solsona†

*Faculty of Economics and Business, Department of Economics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
†Faculty of Economics and Business, Department of Sociology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

This article examines the impact of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) on tourism in Barcelona, identifying the pandemic as a crucial turning point and window of opportunity for redefining the sector and reimagining Barcelona’s relationship with tourism. Throughout the pandemic, Barcelona’s tourism sector has experienced an unprecedented drop in visitors and revenue. The city must embrace new strategies for tourism and development in order to remain resilient in the face of this crisis. Cultural tourism offers both a short-term opportunity for economic recovery and a longer-term solution to the city’s preexisting sustainability issues. In addition to capitalizing on Barcelona’s wealth of cultural resources to attract “proximity” tourists, cultural tourism affords future opportunities to reduce the negative externalities of mass tourism and to reimagine a more sustainable tourism model for the city. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the article weighs the present need to promote tourism’s potential contribution to economic recovery against the future challenges of post-COVID-19 tourism and Barcelona’s need for greater sustainability. We include qualitative analysis based on press and document analysis of local newspapers and city government and tourism sector documents, as well as quantitative analysis of existing economic and tourism data and the results of a residents’ survey undertaken through the SPOT project (EU-H2020). In doing so, we highlight the role cultural tourism may play in Barcelona’s inclusive growth after COVID-19, addressing prior sustainability issues and promoting a more equal distribution of tourism’s benefits. This article also contributes to the ongoing dialogue between researchers and government and tourism actors regarding tourism’s role in local development and the future of the city, thus contributing to future strategies and policies.

Key words: Tourism; Cultural tourism; COVID-19; Sustainability; Sustainable cities

Cultural Tourism After COVID-19: First Findings From Czechia – 295
https://doi.org/10.3727/109830422X16600594683472

Milada Šťastna, Antonin Vaishar, and Kristyna Tuzova

Department of Applied and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Czechia

This article presents and discusses the visible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cultural tourism in Czechia, Europe. The pandemic has caused or accelerated certain changes. Mainly urban destinations focusing on foreign tourists (e.g., Prague) were affected by the pandemic. However, despite the significant decline in tourism as an industry, the seeds of positive changes can be traced. For example, domestic tourists have discovered the appeal of the rural regions of their homeland. The trend has started to evolve from mass tourism to a more individual one. The decline of the workforce in tourism will likely result in the increase of more self-service forms of activities. Even though e-tourism cannot replace real experiences, it will contribute to a more deliberate selection of tourist destinations and services. Therefore, investing in a higher quality infrastructure should be a priority. The latest observations show that the main obstacle is insufficient cooperation among local stakeholders, such as entrepreneurs, public administration, or individual government departments. Czechia’s fundamental drawback is the lack of clear distinction of whether culture tourism falls into the economic sector or the cultural sphere.

Key words: Cultural tourism; COVID-19; Future trends; Czechia