ABSTRACT
In many Member States, European regions and cities, tourism is a key factor in the economic and social structure. The COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in 2020 caused significant losses in the tourism sector area in all European Union (EU) countries. This applies in particular to one of the elements of the tourism sector of any economy with access to the sea-the possibility of accepting cruise ships. This cruise tourism sector has also been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this paper is to estimate the number of selected expenditures of passengers and cruise ship crews entering the ports of Gdańsk and Gdynia, which are a source of revenue for the region, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on limiting the growth of this tourism segment. Our study takes a holistic approach by estimating the amount of revenue generated by tourists arriving in the two ports in the Gulf of Gdańsk capable of handling large cruise ships. Based on the number of arriving tourists in 2017-2020, the study estimates the income of tourism enterprises that receive a direct cash inflow from offering services to arriving tourists. The tourism sector that was particularly affected by the pandemic was cruise tourism. In 2020, this sector recorded an over 5-fold decrease in the number of cruise ship passengers. The conclusions of the study show that the number of cruise ships arriving in the analysed ports in 2020 decreased significantly compared to the previous year, similarly to other ports in the region. At the same time, the number of passengers visiting the analysed ports decreased substantially. Nevertheless, the dynamic growth of cruise tourism in the Baltic Sea basin, which began before the COVID-19 pandemic, allows for conclusions about further development of this tourism segment and its potential impact on the region’s economy after the crisis which occurred in 2020. © 2022 by ASERS® Publishing. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The impact of tourism on GDP results, inter alia, from the creation of various jobs in the widely understood tourism sector, as well as from travels made both by citizens within their country and by foreigners. Such travels entail expenditure on various goods and services. The coronavirus pandemic that broke out in 2020 caused significant losses in the economic area in all European Union (EU) countries. The restrictions implemented in connection with the pandemic affected the tourism sector the most. The aim of this paper is an assessment of the competitive position of EU27 countries from the tourism sector perspective. The study is based on the analysis of the competitive position of the tourism sector in EU member countries in the pre-COVID era, which is why the research period was 2011-2019. The tool for achieving this objective was a multivariate comparative analysis. The position can be assessed on the basis of various sub-measures, but this does not give a complete picture, only a fragmented one. Our goal was to show the picture holistically-proposing the SMD methodology. The conclusions of the study show that there is differentiation that persists over the long research period. The positions of individual countries are maintained. The same countries occupy both top and bottom positions. COVID-19 is a new factor, not included in the analysis, which may affect the results of such analyses in the future, both in short-and long-term perspective. In this context, our results can provide a starting point and a benchmark for assessing these developments in the coming years. © 2021 by ASERS® Publishing. All rights reserved.