ABSTRACT
Considering the coronavirus risk, the purpose of the study is to reveal the group differences in travel risk perception, travel behaviour and behavioural intention in terms of the tourists' sociodemographic characteristics-gender, age and past travel experience. A convenience sampling was used and members of the eligible travel groups on social media platforms were invited to respond to an online survey. A total of 160 responses were obtained from Turkey in January 2021. Exploratory factor analysis, independent samples t-tests and cross-tabulation analysis were performed to analyse the data. This study determined the differences in the risk perception of coronavirus, travel behaviour and travel intention of tourists in terms of gender and age of tourists. Although it is known that the higher the experience, the lower the risk perception, the study showed no differences associated with the past travel experience. This supposes that all tourists, regardless of their past experience, perceived the coronavirus risk in the same way as its influence has been tremendous globally. Consequently, tourism professionals should attract target markets at the appropriate time with compatible strategies regarding the sociodemographic factors.
ABSTRACT
Considering the coronavirus risk, the purpose of the study is to reveal the group differences in travel risk perception, travel behaviour and behavioural intention in terms of the tourists’ sociodemographic characteristics – gender, age and past travel experience. A convenience sampling was used and members of the eligible travel groups on social media platforms were invited to respond to an online survey. A total of 160 responses were obtained from Turkey in January 2021. Exploratory factor analysis, independent samples t-tests and cross-tabulation analysis were performed to analyse the data. This study determined the differences in the risk perception of coronavirus, travel behaviour and travel intention of tourists in terms of gender and age of tourists. Although it is known that the higher the experience, the lower the risk perception, the study showed no differences associated with the past travel experience. This supposes that all tourists, regardless of their past experience, perceived the coronavirus risk in the same way as its influence has been tremendous globally. Consequently, tourism professionals should attract target markets at the appropriate time with compatible strategies regarding the sociodemographic factors. © 2022 The Author(s).
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic, which started in Hubei province of the People’s Republic of China and spread to all parts of the world, has also deeply affected the tourism industry. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has faced many epidemics in recent years. Tourism has also been affected by many epidemics since the 2000s. These epidemics are severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), bird flu, Ebola, swine flu, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and Zika. According to these epidemics, the COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected international tourism. Borders were closed, curfews were declared in many countries and quarantine practices were made for 14 days from those who came from outside the border. Besides, the COVID-19 pandemic is quite different from other epidemics. In April 2020, international flights were stopped for the first time in tourism history all over the world. From this point of view, the aim of the study is to compare the effects of COVID-19 pandemic and epidemics that occurred after the 2000s on the tourism sector. The study focuses on COVID-19 pandemic, SARS, bird flu, Ebola, swine flu, MERS and Zika epidemics. The study also includes a review of studies on epidemics in previous years. © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
Objective: Health workers are on the frontlines in the fight against coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and are unfortunately the occupational group with the highest risk of infection. For this reason, as in all surgical branches, neurosurgery organisations have recommended postponing or limiting surgeries during the pandemic to reduce the risk of transmission. In our literature review, no study reported the number of neurosurgeons infected with COVID-19 following surgeries performed during the first 3 months of the pandemic. This study examined surgeries performed during the first 3 months of the pandemic in Turkey and COVID-19 transmission to neurosurgeons involved in these cases. Methods: Records of 188 patients who underwent surgery in our neurosurgery clinic during the first wave of the pandemic in Turkey (March 11-31 May 2020) were examined retrospectively. Characteristics of the operations performed, COVID-19 tests performed and results, intraoperative measures taken and frequency of COVID-19 symptoms among neurosurgeons after the surgery were determined. Results: Of the 188 patients included in the study, none had a definitive diagnosis of COVID-19 at the time of surgery. However, 25 patients (13.29%) had a history of unsafe contact or symptoms suggestive of COVID-19. Moreover, 9 (36%) patients had a positive result from the COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test. A total of nine neurosurgeons who participated in surgeries were included in the study and none of them exhibited COVID-19 symptoms during the 3-month pandemic period. Conclusion: Although many surgeries were performed during the first wave of the pandemic in Turkey, with some simple precautions, none of the neurosurgeons developed COVID-19. We think that this is a pioneering study since this quantitatively demonstrates the extent of COVID-19 transmission to neurosurgeons during surgery.