Journal
CURRENT ISSUES IN TOURISM
Volume 24, Issue 23, Pages 3324-3338Publisher
ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2021.1874890
Keywords
Local tourism; network analysis; centrality analysis; cohesion analysis; COVID-19
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant decrease in international tourism and led to the promotion of alternative tourist activities. A study on the changes in the tourism network of Gangwon Province in South Korea following the outbreak found that tourists tended to focus on local areas and simplify travel routes, with a concentration of demand on beaches with previously low tourism density.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused dramatic changes on a global scale. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (2020), the restricted movement that has arisen from the pandemic is expected to reduce the national tourist market to 180 million visitors, a 44% decrease from 2019. Subsequently, alternative tourist activities have been promoted to satisfy the suppressed demand. This study examined the structural changes of a local tourism network focusing on Gangwon Province, in the Republic of Korea, which has experienced a rise in tourist demand following the COVID-19 outbreak. This study composed a matrix using the movement patterns of tourists who visited Gangwon Province during corresponding periods before and after the outbreak and then conducted a network analysis. The results demonstrated that as tourists travelled, they focused their movements on local areas and simplified travel routes. Moreover, our findings revealed that the demand for tourism was concentrated on beaches, which previously tended towards a low tourism density. As COVID-19 is expected to become a pervasive reality for the foreseeable future, this empirical study on the corresponding changes in tourist behaviour has implications regarding the tourism industry's direction.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available