Comparing the Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Tourism Industry with Other Epidemics: A Conceptual Review

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, which started in Hubei province of the People’s Republic of China and spread to all parts of the world, has also deeply affected the tourism industry. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has faced many epidemics in recent years. Tourism has also been affected by many epidemics since the 2000s. These epidemics are severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), bird flu, Ebola, swine flu, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and Zika. According to these epidemics, the COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected international tourism. Borders were closed, curfews were declared in many countries and quarantine practices were made for 14 days from those who came from outside the border. Besides, the COVID-19 pandemic is quite different from other epidemics. In April 2020, international flights were stopped for the first time in tourism history all over the world. From this point of view, the aim of the study is to compare the effects of COVID-19 pandemic and epidemics that occurred after the 2000s on the tourism sector. The study focuses on COVID-19 pandemic, SARS, bird flu, Ebola, swine flu, MERS and Zika epidemics. The study also includes a review of studies on epidemics in previous years. © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited.