ABSTRACT
Whale-watching vessels contribute to elevated ambient sound levels in marine habitats. The reduction in maritime tourism activities during the Covid-19 pandemic provided an unprecedented opportunity to study the acoustic response of marine mammals to noise associated with whale-watching activities. In this study, we used acoustic recordings, visual observations, and Automatic Identification System data to determine the changes in humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae calling behavior associated with whale-watching vessels on a foraging ground in Skjálfandi Bay, Iceland. We compared pre-pandemic summer months (2018) with pandemic (2020) conditions to quantify reductions in vessel activity and determine changes in calling behavior. Broadband ambient sound pressure levels were low in both years (median ~90 dBRMS (25-1300 Hz) re 1 µPa). During the Covid-19 pandemic (2020), the number of whale-watching trips was reduced by 68.6%. The number of humpback whale call detections increased nearly 2-fold. Ambient sound pressure levels stayed the same. We found that humpback whales reduce their calling effort in the presence of vessel sound independent of the overall ambient sound. As whale-watching vessel traffic rebounds and continues to grow, demonstrating behavioral responses should inform management plans such as vessel codes of conduct and marine spatial planning.
ABSTRACT
India is a huge attraction for tourists all over the world visiting different destinations with different motives. The Indian tourism sector was performing incredibly till the recent pandemic changed the overall tourism environment. The motivation for travelling has changed substantially and this change in behaviour and motives calls for insightful research. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore the travel behaviour and motivation of tourists in post-pandemic situations. Primary data was collected from 345 tourists who had availed of the services of travel agencies pre-COVID or had made an enquiry. The six factors relating to destination choices in the new normal were discovered as health and hygiene, safety and security, accessibility and connectivity, information about destination, travel risk perception, and value for money. The findings will assist various tourism stakeholders in India to develop their policies and attract more domestic and foreign tourists.
ABSTRACT
Having been living with COVID-19 pandemic for over two years many issues regarding it have been open for scientific interest, not only in the area of health and medicine but also of different social, economic, cultural and other issues. One of the major areas studied is the prosocial behavior of citizens, i.e. adherence to prescribed measures, as a main factor to control the pandemic. Different generations bear different individual costs - economic, social, emotional and others in order to contribute to prosocial behavior adoption and to the efficiency of prescribed measures. One of the major issues in this context is the emphasized criticism of younger generations as irresponsible and dismissive of COVID-19 risks and public health. The aim of this study is to analyze the perceptions and behaviors of Croatian generation Z with respect to COVID-19 pandemic and evaluate their prosocial behaviors and behavioral intentions. The study was conducted during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic and included a sample of 442 Croatian participants aged 18 - 25, so called generation Z. Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis were used to identify major characteristics of their prosocial behavior, behavioral intentions and perceptions about the pandemic and efficiency of prescribed measures. Measures regarding social distancing were found to be the most difficult and the least adopted. Low institutional trust turned out to have a significant impact on prosocial behavior adoption. This calls for careful design of communication strategies and social marketing approach to generation Z in order to motivate them for personal responsibility in the pandemic context.