Search Results (52)

The COVID-19 pandemic altered the holiday plans of many people. Whether it was due to travel bans or the fear of contracting the infection, people modified, among other aspects, their chosen destination, travel transport, accommodations, length of stay, and activities to be undertaken during the stay. In this context, we aim to disentangle the effect of these changes on tourist satisfaction. Previous research on the effects of COVID-19 on the tourism sector has studied the shrinkage of tourism demand, changes in tourist behaviour and adaptation processes on the supply side. Nonetheless, few works have analysed changes in tourists’ plans. Two main hypotheses have been put forward. First, tourists might be dissatisfied given that they could not attain their holiday expectations. In contrast, the second hypothesis suggests that those individuals who changed their holiday plans might be more satisfied because they diminished their perceived risk of contagion. We have used data drawn from a survey of tourists (N = 2009) who visited Costa Daurada, a very popular Mediterranean coastal destination just after the end of the Spanish lockdown. Then, statistically significant differences in satisfaction levels between the groups that altered their plans and those who did not are assessed by means of Kruskal–Wallis and Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests. Results signal that tourists were not more dissatisfied when they had modified their initial holiday plans. Indeed, the overall satisfaction of those visitors who switched their initial destination to travel to Costa Daurada was slightly lower, and the difference was significant, compared to the ones who were planning to travel there from the very beginning. Satisfaction was not significantly lower for those who changed their holiday plans in the case of the rest of the items analysed (transportation, length of stay, accommodation, and overall activities). On the contrary, in the case of activities, changes apparently contributed to mitigate the risk perception and led to a better tourist experience. Results also suggest that tourists were willing to adapt to a new situation in order not to renounce their holidays. In terms of implications for destination management and stakeholders, the main conclusion is that continuous cooperation and mutual trust are key to adapting to turbulent environments in which risk perception becomes central. Full article

Highly Urbanized Cities (HUCs) in the Philippines were at the forefront of public health surveillance and response during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the rapid spread of COVID-19 to Philippine cities, local government units continuously assessed, adapted, and implemented public health interventions (PHIs) and depended on available open-source government data (OSGD). This study consolidated PHIs in selected HUCs in the Philippines using high-quality OSGD to create a timeline of interventions and document good practices in local COVID-19 control. OSGD resources were collected from February 2020 to January 2023, and the data quality of OSGD was evaluated using the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks. A total of 180 metadata sources that met at least two core standards (Authorship and Currency) were included in the analysis. COVID-19 control strategies were analyzed vis-à-vis the rise of COVID-19 cases and types of PHIs, including the control of imported cases, case management, contact management, behavioral modification, and pharmaceutical intervention. Travel bans and hard lockdowns in Luzon early in the pandemic delayed the introduction of COVID-19 to other parts of the country. Good practices of LGUs for local COVID-19 control, such as quarantine passes, curfews and liquor bans, using QR-based contact tracing, massive community testing in high-risk communities, and free public swabbing centers, were implemented to slow down the local spread of COVID-19. With the evolving scenarios in city-level COVID-19 epidemics, local risk assessments based on available OSGD drove the adoption of relevant and innovative control strategies in HUCs in the Philippines. Lessons learned must be integrated into epidemic preparedness and response programs against future emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases. Full article

This study aims to examine how tourism enterprises can ensure their sustainability and elude the negative effects of the COVID-19 crisis via recovery strategies through semi-structured in-depth interviews, focusing on the tourism industry in Antalya, the first and most important destination in Türkiye, in terms of arrivals and nights spent. According to the findings, travel bans and quarantine measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic had devastating effects on Antalya’s tourism sector. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a shortage of personnel in tourism industry, a persisting problem. In managing this crisis, businesses and the state have attempted various recovery strategies. Despite a recovery period since 2021, vulnerabilities in the national economy and increasing inflation rates since COVID-19 have triggered input and living costs. Furthermore, the Ukraine War has adversely affected the sustainability of tourism activities in Antalya. Moreover, due to new regulations regarding retirement in 2023, some middle-level managers in tourism sector have retired, leading to predictions of a potential crisis in upper-level management in the future. According to the study results, cooperation in tourism sector, public–private–university collaboration, and government support play significant roles in achieving full recovery from the crisis and ensuring sustainability in tourism sector activities. The study may contribute to the literature and help industry representatives and policymakers in terms of sustainability in tourism and crisis management recovery strategies. Full article

The Women’s March on 21 January 2017, opened a new social and political landscape for Muslim women to engage in Islamic liberatory activism. I locate Muslim women’s participation in the marches following the 2017 ‘Muslim travel ban policy’ as a site for discovering the link between the politics of resistance and the utility of Islam as a source for liberation. I argue that Muslim women living in minority and post-secular contexts resort to faith as a source of agentival liberation to address the political rhetoric of anti-Islamic sentiments and policies. The outcome of this research demonstrates (1) how Muslim women activists challenge the Western narratives of being oppressed and explore the ways they want to represent themselves; (2) how Islam serves as a catalyst for theological resistance and how this enhances the role of Muslim women as moral and spiritual agents in transforming their political and social conditions; (3) how the Islamic liberation in the US context historically intersects with Black churches’ resistance toward White racism; and (4) how Muslim women’s agency as spiritual beings is linked to the promotion of justice in the Western liberatory movements. Overall, the article shows how Muslim women resort to their spiritual journey and use such narratives to confront unjust political rhetoric and policies. Full article

Women’s empowerment is a powerful engine for personal and societal economic development and well-being. Nevertheless, gender biases in physical infrastructure investments lead to negative consequences for women and children that reduce their empowerment and limit their economic benefits. Public fixed-route buses, such as those in Washington, DC, illustrate how physical transportation infrastructure has innate gender biases. These young residents likely depend on strollers to travel longer than a few blocks. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) runs the public transportation system in Washington, DC. In 2021, 7% of DC’s 720,000 residents were under five. WMATA maintains a fleet of approximately 1595 buses, 95% of which banned the onboarding of open strollers until recently. This ban directly limited the use of Metro buses for the caregivers of young children, primarily women. It also reduced the opportunities for these caregivers to participate in DC’s economic life. In neighborhoods dependent on buses for essential mobility, the stroller ban reduces employment, healthcare, social service, educational, and recreational offerings beyond walkable distances. This paper examines the publicly available discussions and actions that led to the updated stroller policy and offers opportunities for improving caregiver transit access in Washington, DC, and, by extension, other cities worldwide. Full article

The Arab Spring was a period of intense activism demanding democracy and freedom that swept across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. While previous research has focused on the role of diaspora communities in the uprisings and the strategies employed by regimes to suppress them, it has primarily centered on countries that experienced large-scale revolutions and endured severe consequences. Consequently, the current literature has failed to explore the situation of Arab Gulf dissidents living in exile, instead focusing on a few isolated incidents. This paper examines the transnational repression (TR) campaign of the Arab Gulf states (AGSs). Drawing on the literature about the long arm of authoritarianism and TR, this paper explores the various TR methods employed by the AGSs to silence activists living abroad. The paper finds that the nature of TR in the Arab Gulf region is unique when compared with other MENA countries. The TR campaign of AGSs is alarmingly expanding, using various mechanisms and resources, making the region one of the world’s leading perpetrators. The methods employed by the AGSs include travel bans as part of their coercion by proxy, digital transnational repression, and the use of multilateral organizations as tools of repression. Additionally, this paper highlights the AGSs’ support of other countries’ TR. Full article

This article analyzes how and why a near-total abortion ban was recently secured by a populist ruling party with support from Catholic Church leaders and lay groups following earlier passage of one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. The paper further examines the public health threats posed by these measures, which have long been under-researched. These policy shifts are situated within the deeply embedded context of Poland’s abortion conflict and a setting that has long been challenging for reproductive health. The 1993 ban led to the resurgence of clandestine abortions, a near-total privatization of abortion services, and more women seeking abortion services overseas. In late 2020, the exemption for severe fetal anomalies that made up 97% of all legal abortion cases in prior years was eliminated. Neither ban has significantly reduced the number of women obtaining abortions, nor have they increased birth rates as anticipated by proponents who championed traditional family values that they equated with Catholicism and Polish national identity. The new blanket ban on abortion constitutes a health risk and a punitive measure achieved via a judgement of the Constitutional Tribunal stacked with loyalists by the ruling party. It did not reflect popular will, although societal attitudes on abortion are markedly less permissive than in much of Europe. Although the populist and religious right have realized their long-held goal of further restricting, if not eliminating, women’s access to abortion services, compelling criticisms have been raised about how this move compromises women’s health and autonomy. Ironically, the realization of this goal, which many Poles view as unduly extreme, may also undermine long-term support for both the political right and the Church. The wisdom of their move was widely questioned, sparked the largest protests since the end of Communist rule, and drew international criticism. It proved a polarizing action that alienated many young adults and may have accentuated a secularizing shift. Women and their partners are finding new ways to navigate many public health threats by increasingly traveling beyond Poland for safe abortion care and resorting to newly available medication abortion methods. Full article

In this study, an exploratory mixed-method approach was employed to investigate the attitudes of Iranians and Americans toward each other, specifically focusing on two critical incidents in their modern history. Drawing from quantitative and qualitative data collected in relation to the hostage crisis in 1979, the missile attack on an Iranian passenger plane (Iran Air 655) in 1988, and the travel ban (Executive Order 13780) in 2018, the study aimed to uncover any changes in attitudes over the course of history. Unlike previous research, the majority of participants had a more balanced and less biased viewpoint toward each other and approached the incidents by considering the consequences and ethical aspects associated with each event. These findings challenge the notion of a mirror image effect, which suggests that people tend to adopt their government’s attitude toward other nations. Instead, participants demonstrated a tendency to rely on their own judgment and critically evaluate information, rather than blindly accepting media narratives. Full article

Introduction: Globally, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic poses fundamental challenges in everyday life. Various controlling measures, including nationwide lockdowns, movement restrictions, travel bans, social distancing, and improved hygiene practices, have been widely introduced to curtail transmission of the disease. Notably, these measures have affected the execution of population health research that typically involves face-to-face data collection. This paper details a subjective reflective account of the challenges and mitigating strategies in conducting a nationwide study during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Challenges and strategies: The research team faced a wide range of challenges in conducting this study. The major categories of challenges were defined as follows: (i) challenges relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as insufficient access to field sites; (ii) challenges related to contextual factors, such as cultural and gender sensitivity and extreme weather events; and (iii) challenges related to data quality and validity. The key mitigating strategies to overcoming these challenges included engaging a local-level field supervisor, hiring data collectors from respective study sites, incorporating team members’ reviews of literature and experts’ views to develop research instruments, modifying original research instruments, organizing regular meetings and debriefing, adjusting field operation plans, building gender-sensitive teams, understanding local norms and adopting culturally appropriate dress codes, and conducting interviews in local languages. Conclusions: This paper concludes that despite several COVID-19-related challenges coupled with contextual factors, data were successfully collected through timely and successful adaptations of several mitigating strategies. The strategies adopted in this study may be useful for overcoming unforeseeable challenges in planning and conducting future population-based health research in similar circumstances elsewhere. Full article

The highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2-variant B.1.1.529 (Omicron) first appeared in South Africa in November 2021. In order to study Omicron entry to Germany, its occurrence related to incoming airline travel, symptomatology and compliance with entry regulations and recommendations, we conducted a cross-sectional study, followed by a retrospective cohort study among passengers and crew on 19 direct flights from Cape Town, South Africa, to Munich, Germany, between 26 November and 23 December 2021. Travelers were mandatorily PCR-tested on arrival and invited to complete an online questionnaire. SARS-CoV-2-prevalence on arrival was 3.3% (n = 90/2728), and 93% were Omicron. Of the passengers, 528 (19%) completed the questionnaire. Among participants who tested negative on arrival, self-reported SARS-CoV-2-incidence was 4.3% within 14 days, of whom 74% reported a negative PCR-test ≤ 48 h before boarding, 77% were fully vaccinated, and 90% reported wearing an FFP2/medical mask during flight. We found multiple associations between risk factors and infection on and after arrival, among which having a positive-tested travel partner was the most noteworthy. In conclusion, PCR testing before departure was insufficient to control the introduction of the Omicron variant. Additional measures (e.g., frequent testing, quarantine after arrival or travel ban) should be considered to delay virus introduction in such settings. Full article

During the COVID-19 pandemic, existing and new abortion restrictions constrained people’s access to abortion care. We assessed Texas abortion patients’ out-of-state travel patterns before and during implementation of a state executive order that prohibited most abortions for 30 days in 2020. We received data on Texans who obtained abortions between February and May 2020 at 25 facilities in six nearby states. We estimated weekly trends in the number of out-of-state abortions related to the order using segmented regression models. We compared the distribution of out-of-state abortions by county-level economic deprivation and distance traveled. The number of Texas out-of-state abortions increased 14% the week after (versus before) the order was implemented (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.14; 95% CI: 0.49, 2.63), and increased weekly while the order remained in effect (IRR = 1.64; 95% CI: 1.23, 2.18). Residents of the most economically disadvantaged counties accounted for 52% and 12% of out-of-state abortions before and during the order, respectively (p < 0.001). Before the order, 38% of Texans traveled ≥250 miles one way, whereas during the order 81% traveled ≥250 miles (p < 0.001). Texans’ long-distance travel for out-of-state abortion care and the socioeconomic composition of those less likely to travel reflect potential burdens imposed by future abortion bans. Full article

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic devastated all economies across the world and triggered a deterioration in firms’ financial performance. However, some sectors turned out to be more vulnerable while others continued to perform well during the crisis period. Given this fact, we conducted a comprehensive study to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on firms’ profitability in Europe. We used a dynamic panel data approach and a system generalized method of moment (System-GMM) model to investigate (i) which sectors were affected and what was the magnitude of the impact on firms’ profitability, and (ii) whether the stringency of anti-pandemic policies such as workplace closures and travel bans impacted firms unevenly. We find that COVID-19 caused about a 25% decline in the profitability of firms. The most impacted sectors were Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, and Industrials, where profitability declined from 20 to 48%. We also find that firms in countries with high anti-pandemic policy stringency lost about 19% more in profitability than in the rest of the countries in Europe during 2020. Full article

Over the last few years, more and more people have been using YouTube videos to experience virtual reality travel. Many individuals utilize comments to voice their ideas or criticize a subject on YouTube. The number of replies to 360-degree and unidirectional videos is enormous and might differ between the two kinds of videos. This presents the problem of efficiently evaluating user opinions with respect to which type of video will be more appealing to viewers, positive comments, or interest. This paper aims to study SentiStrength-SE and SenticNet7 techniques for sentiment analysis. The findings demonstrate that the sentiment analysis obtained from SenticNet7 outperforms that from SentiStrength-SE. It is revealed through the sentiment analysis that sentiment disparity among the viewers of 360-degree and unidirectional videos is low and insignificant. Furthermore, the study shows that unidirectional videos garnered the most traffic during COVID-19 induced global travel bans. The study elaborates on the capacity of unidirectional videos on travel and the implications for industry and academia. The second aim of this paper also employs a Convolutional Neural Network and Random Forest for sentiment analysis of YouTube viewers’ comments, where the sentiment analysis output by SenticNet7 is used as actual values. Cross-validation with 10-folds is employed in the proposed models. The findings demonstrate that the max-voting technique outperforms compared with an individual fold. Full article

Introduction: COVID-19 has severely impacted industries and individual lives globally. Due to travel restrictions and social distancing to reduce the spread of the disease, it has seriously affected the travel and tourism industry in Thailand, especially its community-based tourism. The impact of travel bans has magnified employment and income loss to most local families and their communities, negatively impacting the development of local tourism economies. Purpose: The main objective of this study is to investigate the impacts of COVID-19 on community-based tourism as well as its adaptation solutions using a case study from a specific region in Thailand. Design/methodology/approach: Using a phenomenological approach, a series of qualitative face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 42 stakeholders involved in community-based tourism. Findings: The study results indicate that job relocation, temporary business closures, reducing fixed costs, and increasing different sale channels represent the most critical factors impacting CBT operational activities directly affected by the COVID-19 crisis and requiring immediate action. Other supplementary actions involve government financial support, business compensation, early vaccination, reduction of agricultural debt, and increasing agricultural product value. Social implications: These study findings offer direction for Thai governmental policy makers and CBT leaders for the establishment of actionable practices designed to respond rapidly and appropriately to local communities and entrepreneurs during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality: The originality of this research was obtained from local stakeholders’ insights on the impacts of COVID-19 upon community-based tourism in the northeast region of Thailand, where tourism represents significant economic value in terms of salaries, wages, and employment generation. Full article

COVID-19 is a major global crisis affecter, changing global norms and societal behavioral models. Many companies have faced existential crises, but on the other hand, businesses that were and are helping others to boost digitalization, ICT and software solutions deployment, remote communications integration, e-commerce & e-services, and so on, have boosted their businesses, as people shifted online during the global lockdown and international travel restrictions. Our work explores the trend of e-commerce and e-services utilization during the ease of restrictions and the social distancing period to forecast the trend continuation patterns after the pandemic. An online survey was conducted and targeted individuals in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, resulting in 155 participants. The data were analyzed from four perspectives: demographics, COVID-19 health impact, trend analysis, and regression analysis. The results indicate heavy utilization of e-commerce and e-services during the global movement restrictions and travel bans. This trend has, however, significantly reduced during the ease of restrictions and social distancing period. Utilizing e-commerce and e-services in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, based on the research data, is positively correlated to the outbreak conditions. On the other hand, current data still does not give clear indications, and this pattern is going to be mostly, partly, or not at all permanent now as societies are returning to mostly a free movement of people and marginally restricted social distancing times. Full article