Addressing the impact of COVID19 pandemic on Sustainable Tourism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53983/ijmds.v12n08.003Keywords:
COVID-19, Crisis, Tourism, Sustainable Development, Strategies Post-PandemicAbstract
The Wuhan-originating COVID-19 epidemic has a devastating economic and social impact in many countries where tourism is essential in the economy. The global tourism and travel industry have lost 100.8 million jobs by the end of 2021 (Statista, Oct. 2021). The Indian tourism industry contributes 9% to the country's GDP and has to bear 1.3 trillion losses in terms of revenue and jobs (38 million), which accounts for 40%, of the total workforce (Choudhury et al., 2020). Amidst the doom and gloom of the COVID-19 crisis, indicated positive development in environmental parameters such as global warming, pollution, and climate change, which is necessary for tourism and sustainable development. The lockdown and travel restrictions enforced during COVID-19 also aided in reducing tensions between tourists and visitors caused by over-tourism. Meanwhile, this development by no means should be considered a silver lining for the environment, as it will surely hamper recovery once the world starts to recover from COVID-19. Therefore, it is an opportunity for all tourism stakeholders to come together and build a sustainable future. The present paper reviews the various measures and strategies taken across the globe and the scope for sustainable tourism development based on the opportunity provided by the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of social, economic, and environmental factors.
Downloads
References
Almost 25 million jobs could be lost worldwide as a result of COVID-19, says ILO. Ilo.org. (2022). Retrieved 21 December 2021, from https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_738742/lang--en/index.htm.
Avraham, E., & Ketter, E. (2017). Destination image repair while combatting crises: tourism marketing in Africa. Tourism Geographies, 19(5), 780-800.
Bhuiyan, M. A. H., Hassan, S., Darda, M. A., & Habib, M. W. (2020). Aspects of sustainable tourism development and COVID-19 pandemic.
Carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 above decadal average. The Hindu. (2022). Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/carbon-dioxide-emissions-in-2020-above-decadal-average/article37167104.ece.
Chang, C. L., McAleer, M., & Wong, W. K. (2020). Risk and financial management of COVID-19 in business, economics and finance. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 13(5), 102.
Chen, M. H., Demir, E., García-Gómez, C. D., & Zaremba, A. (2020). The impact of policy responses to COVID-19 on US travel and leisure companies. Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights, 1(1), 100003.
Choe, J. Y. J., & Kim, S. S. (2018). Effects of tourists’ local food consumption value on attitude, food destination image, and behavioral intention. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 71, 1-10.
Iacus, S. M., Natale, F., Santamaria, C., Spyratos, S., & Vespe, M. (2020). Estimating and projecting air passenger traffic during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak and its socio-economic impact. Safety Science, 129, 104791.
Ibn-Mohammed, T., Mustapha, K. B., Godsell, J., Adamu, Z., Babatunde, K. A., Akintade, D. D., ... & Koh, S. C. L. (2021). A critical analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and ecosystems and opportunities for circular economy strategies. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 164, 105169.
Ilo.org. (2022). Retrieved 16 December 2021, from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/documents/briefingnote/wcms_742664.pdf.
India under lockdown: Migrant labourer pedals 1,700 km in 7 days to reach home. Hindustan Times. (2022). Retrieved 19 November 2021, from https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-under-lockdown-migrant-labourer-peddles-1-700-km-in-7-days-to-reach-home/story-FTrl4Jlc0K7HOxO63cyonM.html.
International Tourist Numbers Could Fall 60-80% in 2020, UNWTO Reports | UNWTO. Unwto.org. (2022). Retrieved 23 December 2021, from https://www.unwto.org/news/covid-19-international-tourist-numbers-could-fall-60-80-in-2020.
Ioannides, D., & Gyimóthy, S. (2020). The COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity for escaping the unsustainable global tourism path. Tourism Geographies, 22(3), 624-632.
Koirala, A., Joo, Y. J., Khatami, A., Chiu, C., & Britton, P. N. (2020). Vaccines for COVID-19: The current state of play. Paediatric respiratory reviews, 35, 43-49.
Krader, K., & Vines, R. (2020). Overwhelmed by the virus, the golden age of restaurants is over. Bloomberg Businessweek, available at: www. bloomberg. com/news/articles/2020-03-27/coronavirus-impact-on-new-york-and-london-restaurants (accessed 12 June 2020).
Kumar, P., Hama, S., Omidvarborna, H., Sharma, A., Sahani, J., Abhijith, K. V., ... & Tiwari, A. (2020). Temporary reduction in fine particulate matter due to ‘anthropogenic emissions switch-off’during COVID-19 lockdown in Indian cities. Sustainable cities and society, 62, 102382.
Loss in global tourism jobs due to COVID-19 by region 2020 | Statista. Statista. (2022). Retrieved 3 January 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104835/coronavirus-travel-tourism-employment-loss/https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104835/coronavirus-travel-tourism-employment-loss/https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104835/coronavirus-travel-tourism-employment-loss/.
Making the green recovery work for jobs, income and growth. OECD. (2022). Retrieved 23 October 2021, from https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/making-the-green-recovery-work-for-jobs-income-and-growth-a505f3e7/.
Mohanty, P., Dhoundiyal, H., & Choudhury, R. (2020). Events tourism in the eye of the COVID-19 storm: Impacts and implications. Event Tourism in Asian Countries: Challenges and Prospects (1st ed.): Apple Academic Press (2020).
News Article | World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). Wttc.org. (2022). Retrieved 18 December 2021, from https://wttc.org/News-Article/174m-Travel-&-Tourism-jobs-could-be-lost-due-to-COVID-19-and-travel-restrictions.
Northrop, E., Konar, M., Frost, N., & Hollaway, E. (2020). A Sustainable and Equitable Blue Recovery to the COVID-19 Crisis. Report. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC. Available online at. http://www. oceanpanel. org/bluerecovery.
Ozili, P. K., & Arun, T. (2020). Spillover of COVID-19: impact on the Global Economy. Available at SSRN 3562570.
Park, E. (2018). Histogram-based colour image analysis on tourism photography. In Handbook of Research Methods for Tourism and Hospitality Management. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Potential impact of Covid-19 on Indian aviation and tourism – Business Traveller. Business Traveller. (2022). Retrieved 18 October 2021, from https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2020/04/06/potential-impact-of-covid-19-on-indian-aviation-and-tourism/.
Prideaux, B., Coghlan, A., & Falco-Mammone, F. (2008). Post crisis recovery: The case of after cyclone Larry. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 23(2-4), 163-174.
Rebuilding tourism for the future: COVID-19 policy responses and recovery. OECD. (2022). Retrieved 23 December 2021, from https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/rebuilding-tourism-for-the-future-covid-19-policy-responses-and-recovery-bced9859/.
Roy, A., Suresh, P., & Nirmal, S. S. (2020). Chapter Impact of the Covd-19 Pandemic on Travel and Tourism Industry and Future Revival Strategy with Special Reference to Indian Tourism Sector. Hospitality and Tourism Industry, 18.
Schwab, K., & Malleret, T. (2020). The Great Reset. In World Economic Forum, Geneva (Vol. 22).
The state in the time of covid-19. The Economist. (2022). Retrieved 19 October 2021, from https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/03/26/the-state-in-the-time-of-covid-19.
Tourism Policy Responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19). OECD. (2022). Retrieved 24 December 2021, from https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/tourism-policy-responses-to-the-coronavirus-covid-19-6466aa20/.
Un.org. (2022). Retrieved 15 December 2021, from https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/sg_policy_brief_covid-19_tourism_august_2020.pdf.
Why has Italy suffered so badly during the pandemic?. World Economic Forum. (2022). Retrieved 18 October 2021, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/12/italy-death-toll-pandemic-covid-coronavirus-health-population-europe/.
Yahaya, N. S., Mohd‐Jali, M. R., & Raji, J. O. (2020). The role of financial development and corruption in environmental degradation of Sub-Saharan African countries. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal.
Zambrano-Monserrate, M. A., Ruano, M. A., & Sanchez-Alcalde, L. (2020). Indirect effects of COVID-19 on the environment. Science of the total environment, 728, 138813.
Zimmermann, K. F., Karabulut, G., Bilgin, M. H., & Doker, A. C. (2020). Inter‐country distancing, globalisation and the coronavirus pandemic. The World Economy, 43(6), 1484-1498.