Has COVID-19 brought a temporary halt to overtourism?

Abstract

COVID-19 has caused radical changes in the lives of people as well as economies. These changes are deemed as evolutionary and would bring a new phase of transformation. However, current practices of both people and businesses might cease once the crisis disappears. In the tourism context, going back to unsustainable and irresponsible practices would lead to the re-emergence of tourism aversion. This research note addresses the possibility that COVID-19 has only brought a temporary halt to the pre-existing issue of over-tourism and its related unsustainable practices. Even though the travel restrictions imposed by several countries amidst the spread of coronavirus have created a situation of “zero tourism”, the tourism sector has now resumed its operations in most of the world. By presenting a conceptual framework, this note stresses that if the sector continues to act in the same way as before the virus, the situation of overtourism will re-emerge in the post-COVID-19 phase. Therefore, to prevent this issue, emphasising quality tourism, inculcating responsible behaviour, and the incorporation of technology are suggested.

Tourism Sustainability and COVID-19 Pandemic: Is There a Positive Side?

“…The pandemic also presented a need for tourism suppliers to rethink tourist behavior and trigger more sustainability by offering opportunities and information to the travelers to reflect responsible behavior [35]. In essence, the pandemic can be perceived as an opportunity to ponder the unsustainable practices of the pre-pandemic tourism industry and induce quality tourism, responsible behavior, and technological footprints to trigger greater sustainability [23]. In this way, the current crisis may be recognized as an opportunity to incorporate responsible behavior in the present-day tourists to avoid the pre-existing phenomenon of over-tourism and unsustainable practices.…”

“…The torment caused by the pandemic calls for transformative decisions of tourism practitioners and policymakers to reactivate tourism sustainably [5,35,65] within the framework of innovations and creativity [23,26,41,71]. Transformational change should not only focus on finding a solution for socio-economic crises posed by COVID-19, but various political, social, and market players also need to contemplate further innovations, investments, and efforts to realize a climate-neutral world in a post-pandemic era [72].…”

“…To ensure a pre-emptive response and the prompt recuperation of travel demand, there is a need for an approach that can be consistent in the long run [73]. In essence, devising a sustainable strategy of operation is a highly significant question for the development of tourism in the post-pandemic era [9,32] because the pandemic has caused only a short-term halt to the pre-existent scenarios of over-tourism and unsustainable practices [23,24].…”

“…A conceptual framework developed by Tiwari and Chowdhary [23] claims that in the absence of any sustainable strategy, the tourism industry in the aftermath of COVID-19 will again return to the pre-pandemic over-tourism and unsustainable practices. Therefore, there is a need to identify sustainable solutions to deal with the challenges of COVID-19 in the post-pandemic world and sustain the responsible practices witnessed in the stakeholders' behavior during the pandemic.…”

“…Along with the long-lasting negative impacts sparked by the pandemic on the global tourism sector, there are certain positive impacts such as the opportunity to engage in corporate social responsibilities (CSR) [19], decreases in tourism-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [20], the emergence of the new forms of tourism [21], the identification of technological solutions [22], a halt to the scenario of over-tourism [23], etc. Additionally, the pandemic has allowed the global tourism industry to escape from the unsustainable and irresponsible practices of the pre-pandemic tourism industry [24,25].…”