Search results

The home-is-safer-than-abroad bias is quite substantial in tourism. In times of uncertainty, home-like, domestic, and what is known is much more trusted. This paper explores how the diaspora population might be instrumental in rebuilding medical tourism for countries with migration-intense populations.

Theory-based adaptation leading to the shift of perspective in medical tourism. Scientific evidence, international organisation reports and media outlets’ publications were analysed. This work is a continuity of ongoing diasporic medical tourism (DMT) research.

Diasporic medical tourism represents a group of “hidden consumers” that pioneered medical tourism in certain countries. They are non-negligent in volume, continue to travel to visit friends and relatives (VFR tourism category) despite economic and societal upheavals, and often follow a “home-is-safer-than-abroad” bias. Therefore, they represent a substantial group of potential consumers, especially in times of uncertainty.

Medical tourism has become very competitive. Countries and companies need to look for post-pandemic consumers’ new behaviours and new avenues to develop medical tourism.

Despite the diaspora being even a majority of medical travellers in certain countries, this sub-segment has not been adequately addressed in academia. This paper highlights the importance of DMT in uncertain times (post-pandemics, fragile economic environment) and the opportunities and constraints it presents, thus addressing a critical gap in the literature.

COVID-19 pandemic crisis has led the scientific community in continuous efforts to estimate its impact on tourism. UNWTO predictions indicated a decline in international tourist arrivals and the respective loss in revenues generated by tourist activity for the first year of the pandemic. Undoubtedly, such an impact may not be the same for every country, especially on a domestic level. In fact, the recovery process upon COVID-19 suggests domestic tourism as the driving force. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the tourist behavioral intentions after the first outbreak of COVID-19 with evidence from the Greek market.

A primary survey with questionnaires distributed via online channels (email and social media) has been undertaken to focus on the travelers’ preferences when it comes to the main parts that compose the holiday travel (destination, transport mode, accommodation type). Additionally, there were questions regard to their perceptions on the international norms of health protection against the virus.

The results of the survey illustrate some prima facie evidence of tourist behavioral intentions of Greeks, upon a statistical analysis, which indicates preference in domestic tourism and personalized services, issues related with travel costs and health safety awareness, toward tourism recovery process and customers’ reengagement and trust to the tourism businesses and destinations.

As Greece is a popular destination that includes a plethora of tourism cities, this paper illustrates the intentions of Greeks toward tourism activity upon pandemic crisis, when it comes to their travel preferences, as well as their perceptions on health and safety protocols applied in destinations and tourism businesses.

Because of COVID-19, tourist behaviour has changed with a range of trends becoming more prominent. This paper sets out to explain the dominance of family tourism in New Zealand's domestic markets and the trends associated with it.

This paper is based upon secondary data from academic literature, industry reports, news media and webinars associated with New Zealand during COVID-19, starting in March 2020.

The paper explains the rise of family tourism in New Zealand during COVID-19 based upon the consumer behaviour trends of: (1) Simplicity: In search of slow; (2) Mercurial consumption; (3) Localism; (4) Staycation; (5) Healthy habits; and (6) Is it safe to come out?

The usefulness of this paper is derived from explaining why the rise of family tourism occurred based upon the identified trends.

This article provides the background to the topic being addressed in this issue: how to manage the development of health tourism in challenging times in the Visegrád countries. This introduction provides an overview of the current situation in the region, as well as summarizes the articles written in response to the main question.

This article provides a context for the research, explaining the historical and geographical background for the four countries in question. The information is based on secondary data derived from academic literature as well as professional research studies.

The findings shed light on the current trends, opportunities and challenges in the development of health tourism in the Visegrád countries. The information presents new insights into the factors influencing the growth of the industry, the impact of changing consumer preferences and the role of stakeholders in shaping the future of health tourism in the region. The findings highlight best practices and successful strategies for managing the development of health tourism in challenging times.

This theme issue contributes to the existing literature on health tourism by focusing specifically on the Visegrád countries, a region that has received relatively little attention in previous research. By exploring this unique region, researchers will be able to identify key trends and challenges that are specific to these countries, and develop innovative strategies for managing the development of health tourism in this context. The findings of this theme issue have practical implications for policymakers and industry stakeholders looking to navigate the evolving landscape of health tourism in the Visegrád countries.

Domestic tourism has been a prominent form of tourism in the archipelagos. Its dominance has at times been considered to be a limitation causing seasonality. The pandemic has changed many things in this regard. Travelling closer to home and domestic tourism have become even more the norm, and domestic tourism is now seen as a blessing. The role of domestic tourism to restart island tourism was investigated by using a group of islands in the central Mediterranean region. Interviews held with stakeholders and secondary data have shown that island to island domestic tourism was key for such destinations to restart tourism – a major economic sector on such islands. As the pandemic rages on, domestic tourism is expected to increase. This is galvanised by the safe environment found on islands where local populations have been fully vaccinated, the pristine natural environment which is highly sought after following a long period of staying indoors, opportunities of self-catering accommodation with full amenities as well as connections gained between islands. Domestic tourism might be also favoured due to its potential to contribute in reducing emissions which is key for the tourism sector to contribute to the European Green Deal targets. However, several challenges need to be addressed. These include addressing seasonality by targeting domestic tourists also off season through adequate packages focusing on diverse niches comprising ecotourism, ensuring reliable and sustainable sea transport services and better management of the natural environment.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the on-going COVID-19 pandemic and its potential influence on tourist behaviour in the short- to medium-term. While the influence of the pandemic on tourist’s perceived risk and its impact on their future travel behaviour is understandably yet to be established, the present paper discusses the potential nexus. Additionally, this paper provides tourism practitioners with some recommendations for mitigating the effect of potential heightened perceived risk on travel and tourism decision-making post the COVID-19 crisis.

The present paper synthesises contemporary academic literature on perceived risk and post-crisis tourism with emerging information associated with the unfolding COVID-19 crisis.

This paper draws empirical evidence from studies related to previous health crises and their impact on tourism, as well as tourist behaviour. By discussing previous studies within the context of the on-going COVID-19, it is possible to anticipate the influence that perceived risk associated with the pandemic may have on the post-crisis behaviour of tourists. Also, short-term measures to mitigate the effects of risk on tourism are posited to guide practitioners in the future recovery of the sector.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented and on-going crisis for the global tourism industry. Hence, the present paper serves as a primer to a broader discussion within the tourism discourse and provides theoretical direction for future tourism research.

Key to the recovery of the global tourism industry will be encouraging both domestic and international tourism activity. However, while the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on tourist behaviour is yet to be substantiated, previous research predicts a situation of heightened perceived risk and the potential cognitive dissonance that may negatively influence tourist decision-making. To mitigate this potential effect, governance, augmented immigration policy, destination media profiling, recovery marketing and domestic tourism will be critical interventions.

This paper is one of the first to discuss the potential influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the post-crisis decision-making process of tourists and their conative behaviour. As a primer to further empirical research, this paper sets a pertinent research agenda for academic inquiry within an evolving and increasingly uncertain global tourism market.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how effectively Jamaica recovers from negative destination image due to the Zika virus to assist other countries with similar destination image issues. Because negative media coverage of a destination is a strong deterrent for visiting a destination, tourism operators should be aware of techniques to effectively promote their area.

A review of the literature regarding destination image and an investigation of other destinations with similar issues as a result of the Zika virus.

This paper observes that the surge in media coverage regarding the Zika virus threatens the destination image of Jamaica and could lead to a decrease in tourism revenue and foreign travelers.

This paper provides recommendations for destinations impacted by negative global perception or being seen as a risky area to travel to after a publicized event, such as a natural disaster or disease outbreak.

This paper examines the potential impact of the Zika virus as a threat to destinations which rely on a tourism economy. In general, little research has been associated with the impact of Zika on tourism despite its recent surge in media.