Tourism in a world with COVID-19

Tourism is the economic sector hardest hit by COVID-19 to date, the United Nations has reported.

“That is hardly surprising, given that a record 1.5 billion tourists traveled internationally last year alone,” said Tazim Jamal, a professor in the recreation, park and tourism sciences department at Texas A&M University.

“The spread of disease around the world quickly affects all aspects of the industry: transportation, hotels, restaurants and destinations,” she said.

Jamal and co-author Christine Budke, an epidemiologist with the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences at Texas A&M, published a paper last month that summarized the need for strategic action in the face of threats to human health such as COVID-19.

Learning lessons from SARS

“This is not the first global epidemic in living memory, or even the first caused by a coronavirus,” Budke said. “In November 2002, severe acute respiratory syndrome — SARS — broke out in Guangdong Province in southern China.”

It also severely affected the tourism industry, as travel restrictions were implemented both for people seeking to travel to and from affected countries.

The pattern unfolding so far in response to COVID-19 is much the same, although to a much greater extent than SARS, according to Jamal and Budke.

Not only is this new coronavirus highly contagious, it has created far greater economic and social disruption as our world has become more interconnected and mobile since SARS.

How the tourism industry can respond

The tourism industry has similar responsibilities before, during and after a pandemic, said Jamal and Budke.

Disaster preparedness and crisis management plans must be in place. Strong internal and external coordination is essential to enable rapid response and information communication to tourism enterprises and tourists who risk being stranded.

In addition, tourism service providers should work with health officials to develop a strong health communication strategy. Jamal and Budke observed that this coordination is often lacking during and after pandemics and natural disasters.

“The challenge is more than simply economic,” said Jamal. “Poorer populations in vulnerable destinations often bear the brunt of disease outbreaks more than others.”

When COVID-19 broke out in Wuhan, Jamal said, about 4,600 African students were enrolled in universities in Hubei Province, but they lacked embassy or consulate representation there, leaving them highly vulnerable.

By keeping communication channels open between their own stakeholders and local health authorities, the tourism industry can help mitigate the results of pandemics and other large-scale disasters.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provide information on disease outbreaks and also tips for travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The flow of accurate and timely information among travelers, the tourism industry and health care professionals could reduce the number of people affected, especially in more vulnerable parts of the world.

“In a post-COVID-19 world, we hope the tourism industry and tourists can play their part to ensure enjoyable travel experiences with justice, respect and care,” said Jamal.

That’s a worthy goal, Jamal said, given that the United Nations World Tourism Organization estimates the number of people traveling internationally will increase to 1.8 billion by 2030.

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