COVID-19 and Travel

"...a valuable and much-needed contribution illustrating the impact, response, adaptability, and challenges that global travel and tourism faced during the annus horribilis of 2020. The author did quite a remarkable job in collating different perspectives and aspects of COVID19 and travel in a dense and empirically driven narrative that best suits professionals in tourism and hospitality and undergraduate students."Amore, A. (2022). Book review of Hudson, S. (2020). COVID-19 & Travel Impacts, Responses and Outcomes. ISBN: 9781911635703, Oxford, UK: Goodfellow Publishers Ltd. European Journal of Tourism Research 30, 3022" I am, frankly, amazed. It's an ambitious, well-researched volume, global in scope....Covid-19 & Travel helps put our current situation in perspective by examining its origins...Though the book is scarcely older than a current events quarterly, it offers deep perspective." Arnie Weissman, Editor-in-Chief, Travel Weekly, 10 Sept 2020“…a solid reference point and artefact that is likely to facilitate future research on the outbreak and immediate aftermath of the pandemic. … a useful resource particularly for students and industry managers studying and researching risk and crisis management, marketing and also planning and development in the travel industry.” International Journal of Tourism Policy, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2020" a very solid overview of the main issues arising from COVID-19 and the travel sector, and it belongs on the shelves (or electronic libraries) of practitioners, academics and learners alike."Anna Spenceley (2021): A review of COVID-19 & Travel: Impacts, Responses and Outcomes, Tourism Geographies, DOI: 10.1080/14616688.2020.1866059

• Chapter 1: An unfolding crisis Chapter 1 will look at how the crisis unfolded and impacted travel (eg. cruise ships unable to dock, aircraft ordered to turn around mid-flight, travelers stranded overseas, ski resorts closing overnight, restaurants ordered to shut etc). How and why did destinations react differently? Chapter 2: Adapting to lock down This chapter will cover how the different sectors of the industry adapted to the crisis. For example, most airlines grounded planes, some hotels started offering daily room rates, many national parks closed, restaurants moved towards delivery and take-out only, tour operators furloughed staff, and golf courses put social distancing policies in place. Chapter 3: Sending the right message Chapter 3 will look at crisis communication management and the marketing strategies employed by organizations in response to the pandemic. Creative visual campaigns from Greece, Scotland and Portugal persuaded travelers that better days are coming, while urging them to stay safe in the meantime. Other used cause-related marketing to keep their brands top of mind. Yet some suggested that promoting tourism at this time was borderline irresponsible. In fact, some destinations even campaigned against tourism. What is/was the right message? Chapter 4: Message received? How did consumers responded to these various marketing messages; who are those ‘crisis-resistant’ travelers who are most likely to travel once the crisis is over? What will incentivize consumers to travel in the future and how will they change their travel behavior? Consumer studies are already being published on this topic so this chapter will offer a synopsis of those. Chapter 5: Social, economic and environmental impact To date, what has been the impact of the crisis on the social, economic and environmental fabric of the world as it relates to travel? We know already that the number of international tourist arrivals will fall by 20-30% in 2020 putting millions of jobs at risk. But perhaps society and the environment can benefit from this rapid move from overtourism to undertourism. Chapter 6: The future of travel after COVID-19 What will the future of travel look like? Will cruise ships only allow passengers to board who have protective immunity or have been vaccinated? Will we see empty middle seats on airplanes? Will temperature checks, social distancing and mobile payment become the norm at restaurants are they are becoming in China? Will hotels follow the example of the Westin Houston Medical Center in Texas, and use virus-killing robots to clean rooms? What we do know is that is unlikely the travel sector will return to business as usual, so how are the different sectors of the industry responding to, or preparing for recovery?Index