Tourism and COVID-19: Case of the Balkan Region

6th International Scientific Conference – EMAN 2022 – Economics and Management: How to Cope With Disrupted Times, Ljubljana, Slovenia, March 24, 2022, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS, published by: Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans, Belgrade, Serbia; ISBN 978-86-80194-57-8, ISSN 2683-4510

 Abstract:

The crisis caused by the Covid-19 virus has had a significant im­pact on the tourism industry and brought numerous changes in travel pat­terns. Uncertainty, travel risks, restrictions, strict measures and limitations in terms of physical contact and mobility affected a re-evaluation of the exist­ing travel plans. The paper investigates travel plans among travelers in three Balkan countries (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro). Un­derstanding tourists’ preferences and future intentions are the essential ba­sis for creating a tourist offer, keeping tourists at the national and regional level, and mitigating the harmful effects of the crisis. These could contribute to the faster regional recovery of the tourism industry on the one hand and higher levels of tourist satisfaction on the other.

Keywords:

Tourism; Covid-19; Balkans; Travel plans; Travel behavior

REFERENCES

De Haas, M, et al. (2020). “How COVID-19 and the Dutch ‘intelligent lockdown’ change ac­tivities, work and travel behaviour: Evidence from longitudinal data in the Netherlands.” Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, No. 6,100150.

Del Chiappa, G., Bregoli, I., & Fotiadis, A. K. (2021). “The impact of COVID-19 on Italian ac­commodation: A supply-perspective.” Journal of Tourism, Heritage & Services Market­ing (JTHSM), Vol. 7. No.1, 13-22.

Economic Impact Reports (2022). WTTC, (https://wttc.org/Research/Economic-Impact ac­cessed 11 February 2022.)

Ioannides, D. & Gyimóthy, S. (2020). “The COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity for escaping the unsustainable global tourism path.” Tourism Geographies Vol. 22, No. 3, 624-632.

Mackenzie, S. H., Goodnow. J (2020). “Adventure in the Age of COVID-19: Embracing Mi­croadventures and Locavism in a Post-Pandemic World “ Leisure Sciences Vol. 43 No.1- 2, 62-69.

Miao, Li, et al. (2021). Proximal and distal post-COVID travel behavior. Annals of Tourism Re­search 88, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2021.103159

Molloy, J., et al. (2021). “Observed impacts of the Covid-19 first wave on travel behaviour in Switzerland based on a large GPS panel.” Transport Policy, No.104, 43-51.

Peluso, A. M., & Pichierri. M. (2021). “Effects of socio-demographics, sense of control, and un­certainty avoidability on post-COVID-19 vacation intention.” Current Issues in Tourism 24.19, 2755-2767.

Roelofsen, M., & Minca, C.. (2021). “Sanitized homes and healthy bodies: reflections on Airb­nb’s response to the pandemic.” Oikonomics 15, 1-10.

Stankov, U., Filimonau, V., & Vujičić, M. D. (2020). “A mindful shift: an opportunity for mind­fulness-driven tourism in a post-pandemic world.” Tourism Geographies Vol. 22. No3., 703-712.

Tauber, V., & Bausch, T. (2022). “Will COVID-19 Boost Sustainable Tourism: Wishful Think­ing or Reality?.” Sustainability, Vol.14. No. 3,1686.

Telišman-Košuta, N. (2020), “Turizam nakon doba korone: Što će biti drugačije? Što može biti bolje?”, (http://www.iztzg.hr/files/file/RADOVI/2020/COVID-19/ Teli%C5%A1man-Ko%C5%A1uta-N_2020.pdf accessed 11 February 2022)

Uğur, N. G., & Akbıyık, A. (2020). “Impacts of COVID-19 on global tourism industry: A cross-regional comparison.” Tourism management perspectives, Vol. 36, 100744.

Wen, J. Kozak, M. Yang, S. Liu, F. (2020). “COVID-19: potential effects on Chinese citizens’ lifestyle and travel” Tourism Review.

World Tourism Barometer (2020, January), UNWTO, (https://webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.ama­zonaws.com/s3fs-public/2020-01/UNWTO_Barom20_01_January_excerpt.pdf accessed 11 February 2022)

World Tourism Barometer (2022, January), UNWTO, (https://webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.ama­zonaws.com/s3fs-public/2022-01/220118-Barometersmall.pdf?_PBIQdr4u_qM0w56.l0N­pfGPzylGu6Md accessed 11 February 2022)