Changes in tourist mobility after COVID-19 outbreaks. (January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yu, Ling; Zhao, Pengjun; Tang, Junqing; Pang, Liang
• Is Part Of: Annals of tourism research. Volume 98(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-01
• Subjects: The COVID-19 pandemic -- Tourist mobility -- Human travel behavior -- Big data -- China; Tourism -- Periodicals
• DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2022.103522
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0160-7383

Abstract

Abstract: We comparatively examined tourist mobility changes in the entire country and explicitly covered two distinct waves of COVID-19 outbreaks, based on mobile phone data from 277.15 million tourists from 2019 to 2021 in China. The results show that domestic tourism in Beijing was even higher after the pandemic than prior to it. In addition, we found that female and elderly groups had a slower recovery after the first wave, whereas this was the opposite one year later, after the second wave. Additionally, wealthier, larger cities were notably hit the hardest. Overall, our findings provide a better understanding of tourism management in public health crises and policy-making during post-pandemic recovery and for future outbreaks. Graphical abstract: Unlabelled Image Highlights: We examined the tourist mobility changes after two waves of COVID-19 outbreaks. We used 3-years of cellphone data from 277.15 million tourist mobility. Domestic tourists in Beijing after waves were even higher than pre-pandemic levels. Female and elderly were more vulnerable in early COVID-19 but reversed 1-year later. The wealthier, larger cities having notably suffered from the hardest hit of all.