Reconsidering the Interdependance of Air Transport and Tourism in the Context of the Global Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Transport and tourism are interdependent, since the development of tourism is influenced by the development of transport but at the same time it affects the development of transport. The improvement of air transport has enabled faster, safer and more comfortable connection of generating countries and destinations, which has a positive impact on the development of tourism. On the other hand, the increase in tourist demand encourages the further development of transport and means of transport are being developed for tourist purposes. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the role of air transport in tourism has changed in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemicand also in which direction it will develop changes. In order to investigate the changing role of air transport in tourism, a three-step analysis was conducted. The first step analyses the interdependence of tourism and air transport in the period before the global pandemic. In the second step, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on air transport and consequently on tourism is investigated. While the third step predicts the consequences that this pandemic could have on air transport and tourism.The results of the analysis showed that the interdependence of air transport and tourism is stable even in conditions of global crises (such as a pandemic). However, it can be expected that both air transport and tourism will experience changes, both in the area of safety standards and in the area of new product development.