Has tourism gone on holiday? Analysis of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism and post-pandemic tourism behavior

ABSTRACT

The global tourism industry, estimated at about $ 1.7 trillion in 2019, was among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which cancelled most vacations, closed borders and imposed strict travel conditions. In this paper we analyzed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism, both in our country and worldwide. For our analysis we used data provided by the National Institute of Statistics, Eurostat, Euromonitor International, the World Tourism Organization, the IMF and by professional associations in the field of tourism in Romania and other countries. The results of the study show that the pandemic caused an estimated loss of $ 1.3 trillion worldwide and a 74% reduction in the number of international arrivals. Moreover, the impact of the pandemic will be felt for a long time to come, both at the level of tourism operators and tourists, and some travellers will definitely change their consumer behavior when it comes to tourism. Based on these analyzes, we identified several mutations regarding the future of tourism at national and international level.