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Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to present this new Special Issue of Sustainability.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought international tourism almost to a standstill worldwide. In many countries, the recovery process after the complete lockdown is characterized by an (initial) rise of domestic tourism. Tourism researchers claim that post-COVID-19 tourism will be different from that before the crisis. It is assumed that travel behavior will change in the long term (e.g., choice of destination) and the hope is that tourism will develop towards a more sustainable tourism.

But, is that really the case? What are the short- and long-term consequences of the COVID-19 crisis on tourist behavior? Will domestic tourism be strengthened by the crisis? If so, what does this mean for the development of sustainable tourism?

In order to get a deeper insight into these issues, this Special Issue of Sustainability calls for the submission of papers analyzing questions related to the following topics:

Changes in tourist flows from international to domestic tourism;
COVID-19 as a chance for domestic tourism: rebranding of the “local” as a tourist destination;
COVID-19 as a chance for recovery from overtourism;
Challenges of diverting international tourism flows to national and/or rural destinations;
Critical evaluation of the sustainability of domestic tourism;
Non-travel and staycation as new forms of tourism;
Consequences of a decline in international tourist arrivals for developing countries;
Environmental consequences of changes in tourist flows;
“Reuse” of touristic infrastructure for local residents’ leisure activities.

Based on these general topics, we are seeking research papers that analyze the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for national and international tourism from a sustainability perspective. Papers using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to explore short-term as well as long-term consequences, proposing suggestions for recovery strategies to create a more sustainable tourism, expanding the conceptual knowledge, or detecting good practices from case studies are welcome. Papers can be theoretical-methodological or applied.

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Schmude
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

COVID-19/coronavirus
domestic tourism
travel behavior
destination choice
travel decision
sustainable tourism

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Empty Summer: International Tourist Behavior in Spain during COVID-19

José Antonio Donaire

Núria Galí

and

Raquel Camprubi

Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4356; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084356 - 14 Apr 2021

Viewed by 986

Abstract

COVID-19 has led to the biggest tourism crisis in modern Spanish history. Although its borders were opened in June 2020, incoming international tourism to Spain was very low. Tourist behavior, however, has been very diverse between types of tourism. Data from credit card transactions showing tourist behavior in 33 destinations representative of various types of tourism were analyzed. Results show that differences in tourist behavior between destinations can be explained by risk perception and the proximity of the destination to home, which favors natural areas and charming coastal cities. This study contributes to the academic literature by studying the effective behavior of international tourists in the time of COVID-19. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Rise of Domestic Tourism and Non-travelling in the Times of COVID-19)

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Open AccessArticle

Using Social Media in Tourist Sentiment Analysis: A Case Study of Andalusia during the Covid-19 Pandemic

David Flores-Ruiz

Adolfo Elizondo-Salto

and

María de la O. Barroso-González

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3836; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073836 - 31 Mar 2021

Viewed by 724

Abstract

This paper explores the role of social media in tourist sentiment analysis. To do this, it describes previous studies that have carried out tourist sentiment analysis using social media data, before analyzing changes in tourists’ sentiments and behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the case study, which focuses on Andalusia, the changes experienced by the tourism sector in the southern Spanish region as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic are assessed using the Andalusian Tourism Situation Survey (ECTA). This information is then compared with data obtained from a sentiment analysis based on the social network Twitter. On the basis of this comparative analysis, the paper concludes that it is possible to identify and classify tourists’ perceptions using sentiment analysis on a mass scale with the help of statistical software (RStudio and Knime). The sentiment analysis using Twitter data correlates with and is supplemented by information from the ECTA survey, with both analyses showing that tourists placed greater value on safety and preferred to travel individually to nearby, less crowded destinations since the pandemic began. Of the two analytical tools, sentiment analysis can be carried out on social media on a continuous basis and offers cost savings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Rise of Domestic Tourism and Non-travelling in the Times of COVID-19)

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Figure 1

Open AccessArticle

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Tourists’ COVID-19 Risk Perception and Vacation Behavior Shift

Marija Bratić

Aleksandar Radivojević

and

Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3573; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063573 - 23 Mar 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1105

Abstract

Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on global tourism for at least two reasons: (1) imposed systematic travel restrictions that discourage people from traveling even though they would like to; and (2) increased travel anxiety due to the perceived risk of the COVID-19 virus, causing people to change their typical travel behavior. This study aims to explore the role of Covid-19 in shaping future travel behavior. More specifically, following the general model of vacation behavior and the role of risk in travel behavior, we investigate how COVID-19 influences travelers’ perceptions of risk and how this affects planned vacation behavior. The results show that COVID-19 risk perception per se influences typical forms of vacation behavior, but this risk also leads to the development of travel anxiety, which additionally influences only some forms of vacation behavior. Empirical findings show that general anxiety, which is not associated with Covid-19 risk perception, also predicts some forms of planned changes in vacation behaviour. The study concludes with recommendations on how to reduce traveler uncertainty in order to recover international leisure travel. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Rise of Domestic Tourism and Non-travelling in the Times of COVID-19)

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