Outbound, Inbound and Domestic Tourism in the Post-COVID-19 Era in OECD Countries

Abstract

The relationship between COVID-19 and the tourism industry has important lessons for the post-pandemic period. The tourism industry is undergoing major changes after the pandemic. Analyzing the impact of tourism on the spread of coronavirus around the world may help us to understand how it could be a catalyst for spreading epidemics. To investigate the impact of the tourism industry on the spread of coronavirus, tourism data, as well as cases of coronavirus in the year 2020–2021, were used for OECD countries. The quantile regression method was used to estimate the effects of different types of tourism on the spread of coronavirus. The results showed that, in the first season of 2020, all types of tourists had an impact on the spread of the coronavirus. However, until the end of 2020, only outbound tourism had a significant impact on total deaths caused by the coronavirus, and in 2021, the tourism industry did not have any significant effect on the total deaths caused by the coronavirus. The findings of this article show that prior preparedness, comprehensive guidelines and roadmaps, and the establishment of international travel monitoring agencies are required to assess global constraints in critical situations. Advanced systems for controlling domestic travel in a country at a time of contagious diseases are essential.