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

Author

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  • Cláudia Seabra

    (Faculty of Arts and Humanities, CEGOT—Centre of Studies on Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Coimbra, Largo Porta Férrea, 3004-530 Coimbra, Portugal)

  • Ketan Bhatt

    (Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (ITHM), Bundelkhand University, Jhansi 284128, India)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the tourism industry like never before, resulting in massive losses of revenue and jobs around the world. Accordingly, the pandemic exacerbated the already existing sustainability challenges of the tourism industry. However, there is also a positive side of the pandemic which is often overlooked by international scholarship. Thus, the present study aims to review the extant literature in the area of COVID-19 and the tourism industry’s sustainability and resilience in future crises. Through a synthesis of secondary data, it was possible to bring attention to the negative as well as the positive effects of COVID-19 on the global tourism industry. This article contributed to a better understanding of the positive side of the pandemic in terms of rethinking, resetting, and redefining the industry in a more sustainable way. The study lays out a conceptual framework for tourism managers and destination planners to identify the pandemic as an opportunity and adopt sustainable solutions to deal with the post-pandemic challenges, thereby developing more sustainable and resilient tourism businesses and destinations.

Suggested Citation

  • Cláudia Seabra & Ketan Bhatt, 2022. "Tourism Sustainability and COVID-19 Pandemic: Is There a Positive Side?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-14, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:14:p:8723-:d:864405
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Moslem Ansarinasab & Sayed Saghaian, 2023. "Outbound, Inbound and Domestic Tourism in the Post-COVID-19 Era in OECD Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-19, June.
    3. Paula Fierro-Rubio & Silvia Sanz-Blas & Daniela Buzova, 2025. "Reorienting DMO efforts to improve sustainability and reduce the perceived crowding of tourists visiting a destination," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 22(1), pages 111-133, March.
    4. Yundi Wei & Maowei Chen, 2025. "Tracing the Evolution of Tourist Perception of Destination Image: A Multi-Method Analysis of a Cultural Heritage Tourist Site," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-31, June.
    5. Ketan Bhatt & Claudia Seabra & Jeetesh Kumar & Kumar Ashutosh & Sunil Kumar Kabia, 2024. "Tourism-Led Inclusive Growth in Emerging and Developing Economies: A Systematic Literature Review," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, June.

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