Post-Pandemic Sustainable Tourism Management

Book excerpt: Tourism, as with many parts of the economy, is at a pause-reflect-rest stage in the post pandemic world. This book puts forward some positive and practical concepts for the reset stage in terms of pushing towards wholly sustainable tourism. The COVID-19 pandemic has been disastrous in terms of the loss of human life, the physical and mental strains placed on large numbers of populations across the globe who have been quarantined in their homes and in terms of the costs of dealing with the pandemic and supporting business and citizens through the period. Tourism has been comprehensively damaged, not only in advanced economies, but also in poorer developing economies where tourism provides a vital source of income and employment. The problem has been complicated by the shattering effect on mass tourism, which has been far more sensitive to the shutdown of travel and accommodation than ethical and responsible tourism activities focused at a local sustainable level. Therefore this book evaluates how the pandemic and economic decline affects ethical and responsible tourism - the type of tourism which sustains and develops local communities in a balanced way for the benefit of future generations. It reflects on the position the authors established in "Ethical & Responsible Tourism - managing sustainability in local tourism destinations" and then determines how ethically and responsibly focused tourism may adapt, develop and maintain safety for consumers in the post-virus world. This book will be essential reading for students, researchers and practitioners of tourism, environmental and sustainability studies.