CHANGES IN TOURIST
BEHAVIOR IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Nicoleta CRISTACHE[1], Sabin MURARIU[2], Alexandru Sebastian
CHIHAIA[3]
Abstract: The tourism industry
has been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, both from a social and
from an economic perspective. Despite showing signs of resilience, the negative
repercussions on tourism-related activities have been serious, the hospitality
industry proving to be the most sensitive in the face of the sanitary and
economic crises which started more than a year ago. Even though the full (and
cumulative) impact of the events which shaped the current global situation
cannot be quantified without a high degree of uncertainty, the negative effects
are visible in the economies of many countries, around the world, at
microeconomic, macroeconomic, and behavioural levels (for businesses and
individuals). Usually, such economic, social, sanitary crises or other extreme
circumstances (terrorism, natural disasters) trigger a change in the behaviour
of tourists, the differences being dependent on region, country, etc. Thus,
given the current economic and social context, the current paper focuses on the
behavioural change of the Romanian tourists. The practical purpose of this
research is to show the agents working in the tourism industry on which aspects
to focus more and how to diversify their offer based on the change in demand
specific to the "new normal". The most recent research conducted by
experts have shown that the pandemic has negative effects on travel intention
for multiple reasons, among them being the selectivity in choosing the
destination based on criteria such as the increased need for hygiene and
healthcare conditions, for travel insurance, etc.
DOI 10.56082/annalsarscieco.2023.2.106
